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Public questions plaza closure data as council postpones permanent street-closure resolution
Summary
A public commenter asked the finance committee for evidence that streets near Plaza Park are unsafe before the committee postponed a resolution to permanently close Lincoln and Palace Avenues; the committee said it would pursue a collaborative amendment process and voted to postpone.
A Santa Fe resident pressed the finance committee for data supporting a proposed permanent closure of two streets near Plaza Park as the committee voted to postpone the resolution.
Catherine Rivera of District 1 told the committee, "We don't believe that the street is unsafe. There is no data to support it," and asked whether operational reasons or staff capacity (naming Sam Burnett) were motivating the planned closures rather than safety evidence. The comment came during the public-comment portion of the finance committee meeting.
Staff read the caption for the resolution, which proposed to "close the surrounding streets the streets surrounding Plaza Park annually from Memorial Day to October 31 or later and to close Lincoln Avenue and Palace Avenue next to Plaza Park permanently." A committee member moved to postpone the resolution to allow a collective amendment process; the motion passed unanimously on roll call.
Chair Tara Faulkner and other members emphasized a new approach of working collectively on amendments when there is disagreement. The committee did not present data during the meeting to answer the public comment requesting evidence of safety risks. The caption names Councilor Patricia Gully and Councilor Alma Castro as sponsors; the resolution number was listed as 2026-TBD in the caption.
What happens next: the resolution will return to committee after members and staff complete the collaborative amendment work. The transcript records an apparent discrepancy about the next-review date: one speaker cited June 22 as a date-certain for postponement while staff later announced the next meeting as Monday, 07/27/2026.
