BY DAVID NORTH
Transportation Board Chair
If all goes as planned, work will start on improvements to DP Road from about the Fire Station to the gate at the east end in April 2022. Part of that project could involve construction of parking on the south side of the road across from the existing businesses.
County Public Works engineering staff presented several workable options at the Transportation Board meeting June 3. Other than the No Build alternative recommended by the board, options would cost somewhere between $200,000 and $400,000. Because there is no known plan for the land to the south, money spent on any option may turn out to be work that has to be undone.
Sounds simple, right? Not really. We all know how long empty lots can sit fallow. It could easily be even longer on DP Road after recent issues with transuranics. So tacking on a bit more to a project already slated to cost $4.5 million might be reasonable.
Sentiment from the existing businesses is currently seen as favoring a minimal spend or doing nothing, as the board proposed. But I don’t think any of us on the board are convinced the other good options might not work out to be best anyway.
With that in mind, anyone interested should review the project proposal, available on the county site at:
https://losalamos.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
The June 3 T-Board agenda will list a link to the presentation, with the options presented near the end. The explanation on the slides is quite clear. The board recommendation is just that — an opinion to be considered by the County Council, who will ultimately decide. Public comment should be submitted to lacpw@lacnm.us by June 17.
Aside from the parking issue, the road will be rebuilt and new utilities added, including a sewer line that can optionally be hooked into. Currently all properties out there use septic systems.
As a personal plug, don’t hesitate to go out and support our local businesses. At first glance the road looks much as the Panama Canal must have during construction, but we were able to negotiate it in a low-slung sedan with no trouble. Just go a little slower and check out the current projects on the way.
Transit Study
The county got a grant for a very detailed study of our transit operations. We heard a description of what to expect and it’s going to be very interesting indeed.
Bicycling
Recent communications with the County Council indicate a growing interest in promotion and improvement of bicycling in the county. Expect to see agenda items appear on any and all aspects. That makes this a very good time to communicate concerns and ideas you may have regarding safety, convenience or just how to make bicycling better and more fun.
As always, the board can be reached via email at: lacpw@lacnm.us … and of course topics need not be limited to what we’ve discussed here.