In this FFY21-Q3 Issue on Transportation, Planning, and Equity:
- Update on the MPO's Community Engagement Committee
- El MPO está Trabajando para Establecer un Comité de Participación Comunitaria
- New Interactive Map Shows Region's Transportation Projects
- Transit Equity: An Albuquerque Transit Rider's Story
- Accessibility Strategies for Maps and Visualizations
- State Population Exceeds Estimates in 2020 Census
- Traffic Impacts Associated with the COVID-19 Restrictions
- New Rio Metro Program Offers Free Transit Options
- Upcoming Meetings and Events at the MPO
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The MPO is Working Towards Establishing a Community Engagement Committee |
Draft charter revisions are now open for public review |
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The Community Engagement Committee (CEC) will review MRMPO’s public outreach process and activities in order to provide recommendations to the Transportation Coordination Committee (TCC) and Metropolitan Transportation Board (MTB). This group will evaluate Public Participation Procedures (PPP), the Public Outreach Plan for long-range planning, public outreach activities post-plan adoption, and general outreach activities; as well as other matters referred to them by the TCC, MTB, or the MRCOG Board of Directors or Executive Director.
Draft revisions to the CEC charter are now open for a 45-day period of public review. We invite all comments by the close of business on Monday, August 9, 2021. This feedback will help improve the draft revisions for consideration by the Metropolitan Transportation Board. Please email your comments or questions to Jacob Wolff, Transportation Planner, at jwolff@mrcog-nm.gov.
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El MPO está Trabajando para Establecer un Comité de Participación Comunitaria |
Las revisiones preliminares de la carta están ahora abiertas para revisión pública |
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El Comité de Participación Comunitaria (CEC) revisará el proceso y las actividades de divulgación pública del MPO con el fin de proporcionar recomendaciones al Comité de Coordinación de Transporte (TCC) y la Junta de Transporte Metropolitano (MTB). Este grupo evaluará los procedimientos de participación pública (PPP), el Plan de Alcance Público para la planificación a largo plazo, las actividades de alcance público después de la adopción del plan y las actividades de alcance general; así como otros asuntos que les sean referidos por el TCC, MTB, la junta directiva o Director Ejecutivo del MRCOG.
Los borradores de las revisiones de los estatutos de la CCA están ahora abiertos para un período de revisión pública de 45 días. Invitamos comentarios antes del cierre de operaciones el lunes 9 de agosto del 2021. Esta retroalimentación ayudará a mejorar las revisiones preliminares para que sean consideradas por la Junta de Transporte Metropolitano. Envíe sus comentarios o preguntas por correo electrónico a Jacob Wolff, planificador de transporte, a jwolff@mrcog-nm.gov.
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New Interactive Map Shows Transportation Projects in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Planning Area |
Interactive TIP Map visually displays current mappable TIP projects for all modes of surface transportation |
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The Mid-Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MRMPO) has now made it easier to view federally-funded transportation projects throughout the Albuquerque Metropolitan Planning Area (AMPA). The MRMPO Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is the region's four-year regional and federal-mandated plan that identifies the funding for and scheduling of transportation projects in the AMPA. The new Interactive TIP Map visually displays current mappable TIP projects for all modes of surface transportation including highways and streets, public transportation, bicycles, and pedestrians.
Giving you another way to stay informed, this new interactive tool allows you to geographically search for projects with a click of a mouse. Tap on a TIP line to get more information on a project -- view the description, lead agency, estimated project cost and more.
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Transit Equity: An Albuquerque Transit Rider's Story |
A conversation between Sarah Ijadi, active transportation planner, and Jennifer Lucero, a transit rider in Albuquerque |
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Central to the concept of transit equity is the notion that transit is a fundamental public good that we all benefit from, regardless of age, race, or class.1 Portland, Oregon's transit provider, TriMet, observes that "transit equity concerns come up when wealthier and more educated parts of society receive more transportation benefits while communities of color and at lower income levels receive less transportation or experience more negative effects of transportation activities." Transit equity also includes environmental justice principles outlined by the US Department of Transportation.2 There are many types of equity to consider in public transportation, including accessibility, reliability, affordability, the ability to create good jobs by expanding public transit, and the ability to protect our health and climate by using renewable energy.3 This interview features a candid account of transit ridership from Jennifer Lucero, an Albuquerque resident.
Sarah: After finally getting my second vaccine shot, I sat down with Jennifer Lucero outside at Bamin Bakery in Albuquerque’s International District to have a conversation about her life as a public transit rider, resident of the International District, and young person with epilepsy. These are aspects of her life that make her feel cursed and blessed at the same time. Her story below tells us what public transit means to her and how better located, comfortable stops, expanded hours of service, and more routes to more places could improve her and her fellow riders’ lives.
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Jennifer: I haven’t always been bus bound. I drove a car for most of my adult life and know the convenience and luxury of being able to get almost anywhere at any time. I became a transit rider when epilepsy forced me out of the car and onto the buses to continue working. But I was still living in poverty with these changes. I had to find an apartment along the bus route and learn how to haul groceries and water from the store to the stop, onto the bus, and off the bus and back to my home all while staying very alert to cars along the way and at intersections. This caused a lot of anxiety and sometimes fear. As a person walking to catch the bus, I’ll admit, I have cursed at cars. But I have learned to communicate with drivers as well. Being a pedestrian has made me feel so helpless. Sometimes I feel like people in cars are trying to kill me when we are not making eye contact. We’re not ghosts, we need to be looked at for safety on the road as well.
It is hard to keep up with middle class friends/co-workers when I can’t drive; when I have to rely on the bus. Sometimes I don’t feel like part of society; people say go have a picnic, get fresh air, get away from negativity, but it’s hard to get there. Even deciding on a whim to get a milkshake is unrealistic depending on the time of day. One time, as part of my job, I had an event in the Bosque which I traveled to by bus and a lot of walking but coming back the bus passed me and I was stranded for hours. Many of my friends and neighbors who have always been stranded by poverty and lack of mobility don’t think about going to the mountains or going to an art exhibit at the river. Just getting water, food, and carrying groceries on the bus takes a lot of time and energy. Sometimes we feel like scavengers. Even if I can get necessities during the day; what if I need something at night? Or if I want to go out socially at night? Buses are unreliable and the route that goes by my apartment stops service early in the evening -- even earlier on the weekend.
Riders will skip bus stops that we know are unsafe which means we have to walk farther. We try to choose bus stops away from speeding traffic, usually we look for ones with a covering. Why don’t all bus stops have coverings? I have never felt so exposed in my life sitting at the bus stops that are just a bench placed in the middle of the sidewalk; cars are too close, racing past you. The cars are loud and your face is at the same level as the exhaust. When I wait for the bus I breath that exhaust and I sometimes feel like a piece of trash. People in cars honk at us, even spit and yell obscenities at us. I am sitting there along with the elderly, mothers, and babies! We are trying to keep our spirits up but it’s hard because we don’t have shade, or a tree to protect us.
Sometimes, I’ve had really good conversations with people at the stops that has helped me form a more compassionate worldview. Everyone I’ve spoken to were people going somewhere and we shared stories about our lives. Sometimes we shared food if we had not eaten. The bus stop is a place of community. It’s not supposed to be a scary or dangerous place.
Cars are a life force because they equal freedom. People put a lot of energy, time, and money in their cars even if they can’t afford it because they can’t overcome their fear of being dependent on public transit. However, if public transit is reliable, fast and easy to understand, I believe our community can view public transit as freedom as well. Freedom to get to work, to an art show, a trail , a friend’s or family’s casa, or just to explore beautiful Albuquerque.
Bus drivers and my fellow riders have brightened my day. Some of them really care. Some bus drivers are stressed out and disrespectful but many are kind and professional. As passengers we tend to cheer for each other and will help each other when we are on the bus. My advice is to be kind to riders and bus drivers. We are in this struggle together. Many of my fellow passengers are like me; we’re ill, we’re slow, but I always feel like once we are on the bus my fellow riders will work together to help each other out and we recognize there are angels among us.
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The ART bus is a wonderful rapid bus system for our city. I will defend it because it helps me get through my errands so much faster. I wish all buses and bus routes were like ART. It's cleaner, shinier, well lit, comes every 8 minutes, it’s great and you know the ART bus is going to stop!! Also, ART bus drivers have their own lane so they don’t have to put up with other drivers. It bothers me that people who don’t ride public transit, and the merchants, put down ART. Their complaints don’t seem like they consider people like me who don’t have a choice and have to ride the bus and have just as many responsibilities as they do!
I use the ABQRide app on my phone but there needs to be more outreach on how to use it. A lot of people struggle with the fare. It would be really helpful if it was free for everyone. Even having quarters means a lot if you’re poor; it feels like a privilege to have the quarters in your pocket to pay for the fare [Since our interview ABQ Ride announced that the bus will be free starting July 1, 2021 for all age groups. Community-based organizations spent several years bringing together elected officials, planners, members of the public, and partner agencies to make this possible].
We need people to support public transit. I have mixed feelings about Transit Equity Day; it felt like a lot of posers who don’t really ride the bus or know what it’s like to be bounded by the bus on an everyday basis. However, if people who have cars will support improvements to public transit like better, more convenient and comfortable bus stops and expanded hours with more routes to more places, our lives will be easier. We could get to better jobs, schools, nature, food, and to our friends and family. We would have better health. It would enable us to participate more fully in the economy and society.
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3 Litman, Todd. “Evaluating Transportation Equity: Guidance for Incorporating Distributional Impacts in Transportation Planning.” World Transport Policy & Practice 8, no. 2 (2002): 50–65. http://ecoplan.org/wtpp/wt_index.htm
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Accessibility Strategies for Maps and Visualizations |
Design tools support efficient and inclusive visualizations for community members with Color Vision Deficiencies |
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Planning and design professionals have a responsibility to advance inclusive metropolitan development. Infrastructure must be ADA compliant and public meetings are subject to accessibility protocols. Graphics that rely heavily on color for informational purposes like bus maps and color coded frameworks are at risk of misinterpretation from people who do not see color the same way. There are now a suite of tools to create more accessible analytic visualizations and maps.
Color Vision Deficiencies (CVD) alter the perception of specific colors. Previously referred to as “color blindness,” the most common CVD impacts a person’s interpretation of red/green colors. The scale on which someone with CVD interprets color varies; they can either register a muted version of a color, or a complete blindness to that color. Figures 1-2-3 (above) illustrate this CVD for those not affected. People with CVD can interpret the visual if the hues are different enough to distinguish in a monochromatic view.
Rather than waiting for a special circumstance or a separate resource for people that are excluded from the design, adding visual accessibility to the foundations of designs creates a more inclusive community.
There are various websites that allow an image to be uploaded and filtered with a simulated color deficiency, which is a user-friendly way to verify the visual accessibility of graphics.
Adobe Color has a new accessibility tool for designers to check that potential color schemes for a visualization are compatible with people with CVD. The tool displays the three subtypes of complete colorblindness in comparison with the original color selected.
ColorBrewer2 is also an effective resource for choosing a CVD friendly color scheme. This website has a ‘colorblind safe’ option that displays CVD friendly color schemes. It was developed specifically for cartographic applications.
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These tools support efficient and inclusive design for members of the community with CVD. To illustrate this point, figures 4 and 5 (left) compare MRMPO’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan logo as it was designed compared to what someone with red-blind CVD sees. While the design is not dependent on color, checking the CVD accessibility at the start of the design could change the initial color preference at the beginning of the design process instead of near the end. The importance of visual accessibility is heightened with analytical visualizations that include representational color codes or gradations.
For geospatial analyses like heat maps, running the analysis tools and adjusting the symbology can be time consuming. Instead of re-rendering the symbology later on, selecting a CVD friendly color scheme at the beginning is more time efficient. Some CVD friendly color schemes can be found in ArcPro are Viridis, Cividis, and Magma.
Visual accessible designs should be included from the outset of any project, and using these tools will streamline the process and proactively include CVD community members.
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State Population Exceeds Estimates in 2020 Census |
This improvement translates into approximately $2.1 billion of federal funding for education, healthcare, childcare, and roads |
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The US Census Bureau released the Apportionment population counts on April 26, 2021 for each state. Although New Mexico ranks among the slowest growing Western states, the population count exceeds previous census estimates by 0.5 percent, or 11,405 people. This modest improvement translates into approximately $2.1 billion of additional federal funding towards education, healthcare, childcare, and roads.
Highlights from the 2020 Census include:
- The 2020 Census population count for New Mexico is 2,117,522, representing a gain of 2.8 percent since the 2010 Census.
- New Mexico will retain its 3 members of congressional representation based on the apportionment population counts.
- Neighboring states Arizona and Texas both fell below the US Census Bureau’s population estimates by 3.3 percent and 0.5 percent respectively.
- Local population and housing counts, or redistricting data, is scheduled to be released on September 30, 2021.
With a 99.9 percent enumerated response, it appears there was no net undercount of New Mexico households in the 2020 census. This significant achievement is thanks to robust public engagement through nonprofit organizations, government agencies, the private sector, community leaders, and the Pueblos, Tribes, and Nations of New Mexico.
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New Mexico is classified as one of the most difficult states to count. Approximately 42 percent of residents live in “hard-to-count” areas.1 Undercounted populations include Native Americans, Hispanics, immigrants, people living in poverty in rural areas, and people without access to the internet.
To build trust between historically undercounted populations and the Federal Government, the state's Complete Count Committee (CCC) developed multilingual messages with help from recognized leaders in "hard-to-count" areas. These local partners emphasized why an accurate count is critical and organized local CCCs. Messaging also stressed the state’s 33 counties and 19 Pueblos and Tribes would have autonomy in how to spend census money. Public outreach was bolstered by the release of $8 million by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
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Traffic Impacts Associated with COVID-19 Pandemic |
Update on the First 14 Months from our Traffic Monitoring Program |
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We have all noticed the reductions in traffic from the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, continuing into 2021. Now being over 15 months into the pandemic, and with state population vaccination rates levels over 48% for fully vaccinated and numbers increasing steadily, there is a clear feeling that we are nearly at the end of the tunnel as we see our proactive efforts to reduce the spread of the virus continuing. Yet, even with this progress, the impacts on regional roadway travel can still be observed.
MRCOG's Traffic Monitoring Program began tracking the COVID impacts in March of 2020, focusing on 150+ locations quarterly, an effort which has continued into 2021. Observations at the beginning of the pandemic noted travel was significantly affected not only by state-enacted stay-at-home policies, but also school closures, restrictions on recreational and sports activities, inter-state travel bans and/or quarantines, combined with major job losses. The impact on the region’s traffic for this timeframe is shown in the first graphic below. With much of the response being to work and/or conduct business from home or simply a precautious no-travel decision altogether; the combined effect has resulted in significant reductions in congestion, to levels not seen in years.
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The Covid monitoring continues in Cycle 4 but at a reduced rate of now 20% of counts comprising the original locations. With 55% of the Covid locations counted, we continue to see the original patterns such as reductions in the AM peak and lesser impacts on the PM peak, as shown in the graphic below. We see a gradual return to pre-Covid traffic but the levels of recovery have been varied depending on area type. At this point in time, Cycle 4, total recovery for the region is approximately -10.5% of pre-Covid. Areas of employment have experienced the largest reductions, but also the slowest recovery, while residential areas were minimally reduced or in some cases stayed close to the same. At the beginning of the pandemic, the downtown with its high employment experienced a staggering -48.1% reduction in traffic, and by 2021 it had recovered only to 40% of pre-Covid. Residential areas such as the SW Mesa or Far NE Heights both experienced lesser reductions of -24.3% and -35.1% from pre-Covid, respectively, but have since recovered to -14.1% and -13.7% of pre-Covid levels.
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What is clear is that traffic volumes in the region are on the path to returning to where they were pre-COVID. The question that remains is whether traffic volumes will level off, resulting in a “new normal” of reduced travel in the region or will travel levels eventually exceed pre-COVID conditions? MRCOG will be keeping on eye on travel volumes with these questions in mind. |
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New Rio Metro Program Offers Free Transit Options |
The Rio Metro Regional Transit District has launched a new program called Rio Metro ACCESS, which provides free transportation options for New Mexico residents who are receiving employment, housing, personal stability assistance, and other activities to improve their lives.
“Transportation is a key service in people’s lives, and when not available, it is often the issue keeping people from obtaining employment or accessing medical services,” says Rio Metro Executive Director Dewey V. Cave. “Rio Metro ACCESS is one way that we can help offer reliable transportation to those who need it.”
Through a grant from the New Mexico Department of Transportation, Rio Metro ACCESS can issue free train and bus passes to social services agencies so that they can distribute free passes to their qualifying clients. Agencies that would like to learn more about becoming a Rio Metro ACCESS pass distributor can read more at the link below.
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Upcoming Meetings and Events at MRMPO |
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Friday, July 16 (10:00-11:30 AM): Metropolitan Transportation Board Meeting
Friday, August 20 (10:00-11:30 AM): Metropolitan Transportation Board Meeting
Friday, September 17 (10:00-11:30 AM): Metropolitan Transportation Board Meeting
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Please note that Travel Times is now published on a quarterly schedule with issues that align with the Fiscal Federal Year. This FFY21 Q3 edition marks the third issue of our second volume. All previous issues published on a monthly cycle comprise volume one of Travel Times. If you have any questions regarding newsletter articles or suggestions for future content, please do not hesitate to contact Jake Wolff by email at jwolff@mrcog.gov.
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