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MPO unveils "Designing for Safer Cycling" amendment and public review period
Summary
Santa Fe MPO presented a stand‑alone amendment to the 2019 Bicycle Master Plan focused on protected facilities, maintenance, and prioritization; public review runs June 27–July 28 with public meetings scheduled.
The Santa Fe Metropolitan Planning Organization presented a stand‑alone amendment titled “Designing for Safer Cycling” that adds facility-level guidance, maintenance standards and a prioritization framework to the city’s 2019 Bicycle Master Plan, staff told the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee on July 10.
Leah (MPO staff) said the amendment and the draft 2025–2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan are both open for public review from June 27 to July 28; the MPO will hold a virtual public meeting July 22 and an in-person meeting July 24 at the Monica Roybal Center. She described the amendment as a focused document addressing community concerns about safety and the need for lower-stress bike facilities.
The amendment adds four primary sections—background and goals, maintenance, facility design standards and right-of-way/conflict-point guidance—and pulls federal and national best practices into Santa Fe–tailored recommendations. Leah said the guidance includes design options (painted buffers, flexible bollards, planters, curb-protected lanes, raised bike lanes) with pros, cons and cost estimates and noted the updated AASHTO bicycle facility guidance (December 2024) was incorporated.
Leah described a new prioritization matrix to help rank corridors for phased construction. The matrix asks eight questions per segment to assign points and designate three priority classes; she ran an example using St. Michael’s Drive and said the tool produced a high priority consistent with staff expectations. She also emphasized maintenance tradeoffs—some low-cost flexible delineators require frequent replacement, while poured concrete barriers have higher upfront costs and lower maintenance.
Committee members asked whether the Metropolitan Transportation Plan and the bicycle amendment are used to qualify projects for federal funding. Leah responded that the MTP’s project list is used in federal funding decisions and recommended that project sponsors align with that list. She said the standalone amendment’s prioritization could later inform project-level prioritization but that the MPO had not yet replaced project priorities in the 2019 master plan.
Leah asked stakeholders to submit comments during the public review period; the committee did not take a formal vote on the amendment but was invited to provide input. Public meetings are scheduled July 22 (virtual, 3–4 p.m.) and July 24 (in person, 5–7 p.m., Monica Roybal Center).
