Kayla Vanlandingham was riding home from her job at Esperanza Bicycle Safety Education Center In Albuquerque last July when she was struck by a car and killed.
Now her death has led to an effort to update a 1974 statute regarding road crossings.
If you’re driving and you see flashing yellow lights at a crossing, what are you obligated to do? Slow down? Stop if you see someone? If you’re not certain, you’re not alone. In Albuquerque, according to the law, a person walking in that crossing has more legal protection than a person crossing it on a bicycle – or in a wheelchair.
Vanlandingham was 19 when she was killed. She was riding her bike on the Hahn Arroyo trail near the intersection with Carlisle Boulevard when she was fatally struck by a car. The crossing, located between Montgomery Boulevard and Comanche Road, is similar to many such crossings across the city. On each side of the divided, six-lane road, are flashing yellow lights and signs indicating both bicyclists and pedestrians alert drivers to the intersection with the trail.
“Throughout our city, we have many crossings that appear that they would be safe because of their signage,” said Vanlandingham’s mother, Melinda Montoya. “If you get the Albuquerque city bike path map, these areas would be considered, in our minds, protected crossings.”
However, the municipal statute governing such crossings, which was enacted in 1974, only protects pedestrians. Anyone using any means of conveyance – bicycle, wheelchair, scooter of any type -- is not protected by the law.
Montoya and others hope to expand protections to include everyone using crossings, and to modify crossings as necessary with clear signage to indicate drivers’ obligations.
Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn has proposed a revision to the ordinance that would reflect those priorities. Fiebelkorn plans to present the ordinance at the Oct. 15 meeting of the city’s Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee; as well as the next regular meeting of the City Council, scheduled for Oct. 20.
Fiebelkorn is also introducing a companion resolution focused on education and driver awareness, requiring driver training updates and a public education campaign around vulnerable road user safety.
The Albuquerque Land Use, Planning, and Zoning Committee is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the City Council chambers at One Civic Plaza. It will also be livestreamed.
