A senior at the University of New Mexico is spearheading an initiative to get a crosswalk installed on Central Avenue and Buena Vista Drive to minimize risky pedestrian crossing.
Jackie Davis is a geography major who regularly crossed at the intersection of Central Avenue and Buena Vista Drive during her junior year. She saw that she wasn’t the only one crossing at the intersection, which doesn’t currently have a crosswalk. The two closest crosswalks are at Yale Boulevard to the east and University Boulevard to the west.
“Going to the City Council was the natural first step to connect with agencies who actually do this work,” Davis said.
Davis first spoke to the Albuquerque City Council in February. She realized that if she wanted something to be done, she had to collect the data herself, Davis said.
“I was in a field research methods class at the time,” Davis said. “I took some of the stuff I learned from there and went and gathered some data on it.”
She counted the number of people crossing at the intersection in different intervals. In April, she proposed her idea to implement a crosswalk to the City Council, she said.
“It’s hard sitting alone on the side of the road and counting people for four hours,” Davis said. “It’s hard balancing this work alongside everything else, but this is something I want to do.”
The data that Davis presented showed that on Aug. 19, an average of 52 people crossed the road per hour, according to UNM Newsroom. She collected data between 8 a.m. and noon.
Davis also took measurement approximations of crosswalks along Central Avenue using Google Earth. With this data, she said she proved that crosswalks along Central Avenuetend to be close together. The two crosswalks nearest to Buena Vista Drive are 1,300 feet apart from each other, Davis’ data revealed.
“Having 1,300 feet between two crosswalks is an anomaly along Central, because other crosswalks tend to be much closer,” Davis said.
But the Department of Municipal Development identified some barriers for implementation such as funding sources, according to Davis.
Davis said the skills she has gained from her geography degree have transferred to the process of the crosswalk project.
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“As one of my professors has said, ‘Everything happens somewhere,’” Davis said. “Almost everything that happens on Earth has a geographical component to it, and that is especially the case here.”
New Mexico has the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. East Central in particular is one of the most dangerous stretches of road for pedestrians, according to KUNM.
Davis encouraged underclassmen who feel strongly about something not to shy away from pursuing action themselves.
“If you see something and think of what you can do about it, you’re probably the first one who’s going to take it that far,” Davis said. “You might not be the first one who noticed it, but you might be the first one to take action.”
Shin Thant Hlaing is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
