Santa Fe BPAC weighs $100,000 maintenance pledge and how the $25 million GEO bond will fund road and trail fixes

City staff and advocates told the Santa Fe Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee on April 9 that recent one‑time maintenance money and a planned $25 million general‑obligation bond could materially improve walking and biking infrastructure — provided the city resolves staffing, prioritization and regulatory coordination challenges.

“Funding determines the scope and annual lane miles we can improve,” said Marcos Esceell, interim complete‑streets division director, describing the GEO bond spending plan (fiscal 2026: $9 million; fiscal 2027: $8 million; fiscal 2028: $8 million). Esceell said the bond program uses condition assessments and a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) to match treatments — from preventive maintenance to full‑depth reconstruction — and to integrate pedestrian and bicycle improvements that meet federal PROAG accessibility requirements.

The bond and related work tie directly to trail and road maintenance described earlier by Parks and Open Space Division Director Melissa McDonald. McDonald said the city staffs four trail maintenance workers plus a superintendent and routinely maintains major trails three to four times per year; currently planned work includes a multi‑month project on the Royal Chama/Sanbusco (Royal Chamisso) Urban Trail with a detour through August 2026 and a rework of a jump feature scheduled through May 29.

Committee members asked how a mayoral announcement of $100,000 “for bike racks/maintenance” would be used. “If it does get approved, it’ll be applied specifically to our budget,” Esceell said, noting the mayor’s pledge must clear the governing body and that staff are still defining whether the dollars should be used immediately for maintenance or structured as a rolling CIP allocation to support multi‑year projects.

Street‑sweeping capacity emerged as a limiting factor. “We have four sweeping units in operation and a total of five operator slots,” Esceell said. He explained that arterial corridors like Airport Road can take two sweepers two full nights to clear; sweepers have heavy maintenance needs and typical equipment lifespans are four to five years, though some units in service are much older. The practical result: even with funding, the crew and equipment inventory constrain how quickly the city can clear grit, glass and storm debris from bike lanes and shoulders.

Airport Road provided a concrete example. Esceell said the recently completed phase one paving will be followed by restriping that narrows vehicle lanes and expands buffered bike lanes; the approach uses striping and curb repositioning to create a visually narrower driving lane and a 5‑foot bike lane with a 2‑foot buffer where feasible.

City staff urged residents to use the constituent CRM system to report localized maintenance needs. “When we get a call, we try to get back within 24 hours to acknowledge the complaint and route work orders,” McDonald said; Esceell added that CRM reports are the most efficient way to trigger sweeper or crew assignments.

What’s next: BPAC members asked to be included in prioritization discussions and plan reviews. Members and staff said technical subcommittees (safety and technical review) will be invited to review project scopes and help establish a maintenance formula if the mayoral funds and GEO bond dollars are approved. The committee also discussed using a small portion of impact fee funding for wayfinding and trail etiquette signage.

Meeting materials: staff issued timelines for GEO bond expenditures and said airport‑road striping and Jaguar Drive reconstruction are already under contract or design.