The portion of Trinity Drive from Oppenheimer Drive to Knecht Street that will be affected by the proposed hybrid road diet. Courtesy/LAC

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladialypost.com

With Los Alamos County Council’s approval Tuesday night to support a resolution to New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT), progress continues for a hybrid road diet on Trinity Drive from Oppenheimer Drive to Knecht Street.

The motion to approve the resolution passed 5-2 with Councilors David Reagor and Randall Ryti opposed.

A representative from Wilson & Company Inc., which the County contracted to assist with the project, made a presentation about the hybrid alternative.

This alternative, according to the presentation, recommends one lane in the westbound direction and two lanes in the eastbound direction. There would be a two-way left turn lane to access businesses along the corridor and to utilize in case of an evacuation. It also calls for improvements to the multi-modal facilities including an 8-10-foot-wide sidewalk in the area of Ashley Pond, which provides connectivity to the Urban and Canyon Rim trails. Furthermore, the County has been in discussions with NMDOT’s Park n’ Ride to move the bus stop to the north side of Trinity, near the Justice Center and a stop for Atomic City Transit would be installed on the south side.

In the design phase, markings or signage for the bike lane will be considered. One option is an 8-inch white stripe to better define the bike lane.

The road diet is expected to affect access to businesses along this portion of Trinity Drive so the representative from Wilson & Company Inc. said businesses will need to be engaged on how to best provide access.

“We don’t want to hurt or make things more complicated for business owners, but we are going to review access control … there are opportunities to control access but one of the things we will have to do with the access control management is coordinate and get approval from NMDOT because ultimately it is their roadway …,” they said.

It was explained in the presentation that changes to this portion of Trinity Drive are being pursued for the following reasons:

• Improve traffic operations during peak hours.
• Provide facilities for all modes of transportation.
• Improve safety and reduce the number of crashes.
• Meet the recommendation in the 2021 Los Alamos Downtown Master Plan that recommended improvements so that people could park once and walk.
• Minimize the amount of right-of-way acquisitions.
• Minimize the cost of the project.

As far as the timeline and next steps, the study phase of the project is expected to be completed this month, and the preliminary design is scheduled to be conducted in October through January 2025. Final design is expected to be done by May 2025 with construction starting in 2026. It should be noted that the money for the study, design and construction was awarded to Los Alamos County, from the NMDOT’s Highway Safety Improvement Fund. The total project budget is $4.25 million.

Several on council questioned how to address those businesses that would be impacted by the road diet.

Ryti asked if there is a potential to consolidate driveways.

Public Works Director Juan Rael said so far that option has only been given a cursory look.

“Tonight, this resolution isn’t the end of this process,” he added. “This is just selecting one alternative that we can forward on to final design … there will still be opportunities for the public to weigh in and there will definitely be opportunities for businesses to weigh in….”
Councilor Suzie Havemann asked for more detail on engaging the effected businesses. She asked who would do that. Rael said primarily it would be the consultant Wilson and Co. but Public Works staff would be involved, too. The first step would be to contact the business owners and tell them about the project.

Havemann also asked if there is any data that could be provided to business owners to prove the hybrid road diet would make traffic calmer, driving behavior better and customers more frequent. Rael said the County can work with NMDOT to provide that data.

Reagor expressed skepticism that this road diet would help businesses. He said it would make it harder for lab traffic to access restaurants. Plus, he wondered why anything needed to be done to accommodate cyclists in this portion of Trinity when Central Avenue could be accommodated for them. After all, cyclists only make up 1 percent of traffic.

“The intent is to add a roadway for all,” Rael said. “Right now, we don’t have bicycle lanes on this segment of Trinity, so this opportunity affords that.”

Councilor Keith Lepsch made the motion to approve the resolution.

Touching on the statistic that one percent of traffic users are cyclists, he said, “I think what I would like to say is that if you build a terrible, crappy way for bicyclists to drive, you won’t have many of them and as you make the infrastructure better, you will have more of them.”

“I believe you can definitely work in a positive way with businesses to decide how many driveways to close or not close,’ Lepsch added. “I feel we should be able to do that in a way that does not impact businesses and actually be more helpful …”

Havemann, who seconded the motion, agreed with Lepsch.

“I am very excited about this, I think that this meets a lot of our strategic goals … that have been talked about for a long time … the addition of a turn lane is a massive improvement in safety … I think the safety benefits are paramount, and I think safety should be first,” she said. “I think being inclusive of other modes of transportation is super important and if we build it, they will come.”

Havemann said she hopes this doesn’t drive a wedge between the businesses and the County because the road diet is perceived to be anti-business.

“The last thing I want this to do is hurt businesses, so I think we all need to work together and talk about the benefits that it might provide.”

Ryti and Reagor opposed the resolution, both claiming there should be a better plan. Ryti said he felt there needed to be more lanes on Trinity Drive and more facilities for bikers in town. He noted he preferred that Canyon Rim Trail be extended all the way to the Los Alamos Medical Center.

Reagor agreed, saying he felt the proposed additions for bikers will not make them feel safer on the road and felt that more trails for bikes should be made.