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Council reclassifies portion of Gomez Road to allow speed humps, aiming to calm traffic in Upper Valley
Summary
Council approved a change to the city's thoroughfare plan downgrading a segment of Gomez Road from major arterial to collector, a move city staff said will allow local traffic calming measures such as speed humps previously restricted on arterial streets.
The El Paso City Council on July 8 approved an amendment to the city’s thoroughfare plan that downgrades a stretch of Gomez Road so the city can pursue traffic-calming measures residents have requested for years.
The council’s vote followed a presentation from Joaquin Rodriguez of the Capital Improvement Department who told council that the segment of Gomez Road under consideration “does not currently serve a major arterial function and because of the existing development and just the nature of the Upper Valley, it's unlikely that in the future it would ever be developed as a major arterial.”
Nut graf: Downgrading the classification of the road from a major arterial to a collector removes technical barriers to installing measures such as speed humps, which residents and councilmembers said are needed to reduce speeding and improve safety in the neighborhood.
Rodriguez told council that reclassifying the holdout portion of Gomez Road aligns it with the remainder of the corridor, which is already classified as a collector. “A collector can still be a four-lane road if, say, 20 or 30 years from now that needs to happen,” he said. “A collector could still carry the same amount of volume as a major arterial roadway, just does so in a different fashion.”
Representative Chavez, who represents the area and said she had received multiple resident complaints and video of racing, made the motion to approve the change. Councilmembers said the reclassification will allow engineers to evaluate and install traffic-calming treatments such as speed humps that were previously prohibited on arterial-designated streets.
The ordinance passed unanimously. Staff said the change will enable the city to respond to constituent requests for safety improvements and would be followed by engineering studies to identify specific locations and designs.
Ending: With the reclassification approved, the city will move to engineering and design phases needed to implement traffic-calming features and will keep the district office informed about timing and next steps.
