OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Los Alamos Transportation Board Meeting, May 7, 2026: Traffic Safety, Bike Month, Budget Overview

County Council & Boards — Thursday, May 7, 2026
BodyLos Alamos County, New Mexico
SessionCounty Council & Boards
DateThursday, May 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:37:54

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

Alright, it's 5 30, so the meetings call the order.

0:05

And I'll do a quick roll call.

0:07

Member Chappelle, Member Connolly, Member Zowski, Member Gebert Kleinrath, and Member Hampton in uh in person.

0:16

And Member Edwards online.

0:19

Member Muck is absent.

0:25

Does anyone have any comments on the agenda or changes?

0:29

Alright, the agenda's approved unanimously.

0:33

Is there any public comment for items on the agenda?

0:36

I assume no since there's no public.

0:42

Does anyone have anything to say about the minutes from March 5th?

0:49

All right, minutes are proved unanimously.

0:51

And with that, we'll get to our first presentation.

0:56

Good to go.

0:58

Good evening.

0:59

Keith Oakley, Deputy Public Works Director here with me this evening is Chief Scambalone.

1:05

Did I get that right?

1:07

Nailed it.

1:11

And so we're gonna give you.

1:13

So there's been some recent events, obviously, that is from fatality a month or so ago.

1:23

And council asked us to put together a presentation of all the traffic safety uh efforts that we've been doing over the last little while.

1:33

So this is kind of like a report back to transportation board, and then next week we'll give this presentation to the county council.

1:42

Um it's just what it's gonna do is I'll give a quick overview, some summary of the crash statistics that I've gleaned from the crash records we received from the night with DOT, just some highlights of that data, and then go kind of through a series of the projects that we have underway or have completed crash data.

2:11

So what what happens with crashes is uh the police department, typically the police department probably about 99% of the crashes in Los Alamos County or Los Alamos County police, sometimes it's state police, sometimes it's Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department, but typically it's uh LED, they collect a crash report and they feed that data to New High School DOT.

2:36

Um there's some rules around what's a legitimate crash.

2:40

So DOT records crashes that are on the within the public right-of-way.

2:46

And there's a $500 threshold of damage to a vehicle, so anything under that doesn't actually get isn't an official uh crash according to DO to the to the state the way it's written.

3:01

Um PD does collect a lot more crashes than are reflected here.

3:06

A lot of them either are less than that threshold, they're kind of like minor fender benders, or they actually occur in private property.

3:15

So, like the parking lots of Smiths or any other private entity around town.

3:21

So kind of one of the interesting things going through this process, the numbers I have are much less than if I pull the data from from PD for primarily that's that's the reason why.

3:35

Um so this is uh being kind of like data fit from PD to actually UNM does that is all the uh records pulling together.

3:44

So this is what they feed back to us.

3:47

So when you look at a crash data, you don't want to just focus in on one incident on one year because you want to kind of build a pattern or look at uh multiple years of data to see if there's patterns that get built.

4:05

Um so we've been we've got crash data from 2019 through 2025, so December 31st of this past year in that period.

4:15

Umfortunately, we've we've had eight fatalities recorded uh in the county in that seven-year period, about 250 injuries and almost 640 property damage crashes only, and close to 900 crashes in that time period.

4:35

Also in that time period, we've had eight pedestrian crashes.

4:40

Uh unfortunately two have resulted in fatality and six injuries, and then in this first four or five months of this year we've had one pedestrian fatality, unfortunately, and one injury pedestrian crash.

4:54

Um so we're kind of already in line with the kind of average numbers per year that we've been seeing.

5:00

And then on the bicycle front, fortunately we've had no fatalities, but unfortunately we've had 25 injury crashes involving bicycles and just one property damage.

5:11

And as I say, when we're looking at crash data, we don't want to just focus in on one severity or one year or one day or one week or one month.

5:20

So what we try and do is we look at our three to five year average for crashes to get those rates.

5:27

So the table below that first big one is basically we're looking at the crash rates per the average number of crashes per year during the five-year period.

5:38

So in general, we average one to a little over one fatalities per year.

5:44

Um 35, 36 uh injury crashes and close to you know into the 90s for property damage.

5:53

So on average we uh record around about 130 crashes per year, reportable crashes uh based on this thing.

6:02

On the pedestrian front, we're around about 0.2 fatalities per year, and injuries about one uh one injury pedestrian involved crash a year, and then on the bicycle front, it's around about four, just a little over four bicycle involved crashes per year when we're looking at five-year averages.

6:26

Um then how do we kind of judge ourselves?

6:30

Uh it's kind of hard, but probably one of the easiest ways just by looking at population.

6:37

Um it's not perfect, but it's probably kind of the quickest way that we can do it.

6:41

So the the charts on the or the tables on the on the right-hand side are basically comparing Los Alamos Counties per pop per thousand population with the state as a whole, and in general, um we are quite a bit lower than the state average.

7:00

Um, so on Fatals were about 0.5, 0.05 uh per thousand population, whereas the state's almost at 0.2.

7:11

Um injury crashes were a little less than two, whereas the state's getting close to six, and this is all crashes combined, and then property damage were about up just below five, and they're up at about 13.

7:27

And over so overall our crash rates are about a third of or at least on this metric per thousand population compared to this compared to the state.

7:38

And then when we look at pedestrians, um we're about a fifth the rate for fatalities a quarter or less, actually quite a bit less on injuries.

7:54

Um overall we're 0.05 to 0.29.

8:00

I didn't do the math.

8:08

Um I guess the one thing, and I was kind of surprised at this, but when we look at actual bicycle crash rates, at least on the injury side, we're actually above the rate per thousand population compared to the state, um, even though we're only averaging about four a year, which is four too many, but uh I was quite surprised by that.

8:28

And part of that could be you know, UESCO's such a uh rural state, most of the bicycling is limited to you know urbanized areas, and so that might be why, and I think we have probably a higher bicycle rate than most places, just given the how constrained they are and the how people like to ride the bike to the lab and stuff like that.

8:52

But regardless of that, this doing this analysis kind of will raise our uh how we're looking at bicycling and looking for opportunities for countermeasures so that we can bring those uh numbers down as we move forward.

9:10

Let's see next slide, but I've got control.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Transportation Safety██████████████████████████████████34%
Active Transportation█████████████13%
Public Safety██████████10%
Procedural████████8%
Public Engagement████████8%
Public Transportation███████7%
Technology and Innovation█████5%
Public Works████4%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Los Alamos Transportation Board Meeting - May 7, 2026

On Thursday, May 7, 2026, the Los Alamos Transportation Board met at 5:30 PM in Council Chambers (1000 Central Avenue) with a hybrid Zoom option. Chair David Hampton presided. The board received a comprehensive traffic safety update, a Bike Month presentation, a county budget overview from the Council Liaison, and a staff report. The meeting lasted approximately two hours.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Agenda: Unanimously approved.
  • Approval of Minutes (March 5, 2026): Unanimously approved.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public offered comments during the designated public comment period. Discussion was limited to board members and staff.

Discussion Items

Traffic Safety Update (Presenters: Deputy Public Works Director Keith Wilson and Police Chief Scambalone)

  • Crash Data (2019–2025): Eight fatalities, ~250 injury crashes, ~640 property-damage-only crashes, totaling ~900 crashes. Eight pedestrian crashes (two fatal, six injury) and 26 bicycle crashes (25 injury, one property damage) in that period. Five-year averages: ~1.1 fatalities/year, ~35.6 injury crashes/year, ~90 property damage crashes/year, ~0.2 pedestrian fatalities/year, ~1 pedestrian injury crash/year, ~4.2 bicycle crashes/year. Compared to state averages (per 1,000 population), Los Alamos rates are about one-third for overall crashes, one-fifth for pedestrian fatalities, but slightly above the state average for bicycle injury crashes.
  • Fatalities and Bicycle Crashes: Fatalities occurred at scattered locations (White Rock, town site, truck route, Diamond Drive). Bicycle crashes concentrated downtown and on main corridors, especially the Diamond/Orange/Sandia intersection.
  • Wildlife Crashes: 102 wildlife-involved crashes in 2024, 63 in 2025, and 22 in early 2026. Concentrated on Iron Drive.
  • Projects and Countermeasures:
    • Trinity Drive Safety and ADA Improvement Project (Connie to Oppenheimer): Bids received; council award expected May 19; construction June–December 2026. Road diet (westbound reduced from two lanes to one), bike lanes, sidewalk improvements, pedestrian crossing at 20th Street with rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs) on mast arms.
    • Ashley Pond Crowd Protection: Temporary concrete barriers to be placed May 16 for summer concerts; permanent option being designed by Groundwork Studio (landscape architect) with public engagement and historic preservation review; aim for installation by 2027 concert season.
    • NM4 Crossing and Multi-Use Trail (La Vista to Sherwood): Final design approval with NMDOT imminent; bid in June; award in July/August; construction through mid-2027. Will include a pedestrian hybrid beacon (HAWK) and trail connecting Mirador to Pinon Elementary.
    • Diamond Drive Wildlife Crash Study: Wildlife assessment contract starting May 2026; evaluating lighting (solar options ~$600,000), AI-based flashing signage, and speed data collection.
    • NM 502 Corridor (county line to Airport Road): Road safety audit completed; striping improvements at Camino Entrada implemented fall 2025; centerline rumble strips scheduled May–June 2026.
    • Diamond Drive at Sycamore: Pedestrian crossing analysis underway (data collected last week); staff to return with recommendation on potential pedestrian hybrid beacon.
    • Central Avenue Pedestrian Crossings (15th to Justice Center): Parking removal under consideration to improve visibility; working with Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation (LACDC) on business outreach. Crosswalk at Oppenheimer re-striped (September 2025). Rose Street crossing under assessment for signage and potential RRFB. New marked crosswalk at Canyon/Aquatic Center installed September 2025.
    • North Road and Urban Street: Four-way stop request under review after fatal pedestrian crash; data collection complete; staff to present recommendation to Transportation Board at June 4 meeting, and to council by June 23 (within 90-day council directive).
    • Canyon Rim Trail: Phase 3A (Connie to 15th Street) designed, easements obtained; biological assessment underway; bid fall 2026, construction summer 2027. Phase 3B (blue segment) property negotiations ongoing.
  • Enforcement and Education: Council approved speed camera program (five static cameras: two on truck route, one on Pajarito, one on NM4, one on Diamond); return to council likely June 4/June 19. Two dedicated traffic officers funded (Jan–Apr 2026 issued 726 citations, 50 for exceeding speed limit by 26+ mph). DUI checkpoint conducted; officers follow school buses. Safety Town (10th year) and school driver’s ed partnership emphasized.
  • Traffic and Road Safety Task Force: Internal staff group (Public Works, Police, PIO, Fire) meeting monthly to coordinate communications and education campaigns (e.g., NMDOT “Look for Me” program).

Bike Month (Presenter: Keith Wilson)

  • Events: Bike to Work Day – May 14, 7–9 AM at Canyon/Diamond. Bike & Roll to School Day (rescheduled to May 15 at Pinon School; last year ~1/3 of students participated). Group commute from Barranca Mesa on May 14. Tough Riders Mini Film Festival May 16.
  • Green Bike Lane Installation: First trial installed at Diamond Drive/Sullivan Field driveway using epoxy resin with colored crushed glass (UV-resistant, plow-friendly). Additional green pavement markings at conflict points (e.g., right-turn lanes). Survey to be released for feedback. Future installations planned for Trinity Drive project and NM4 crossing.
  • Bike Box Concept: Two-stage left turn at West Road/Diamond Drive under development; will require reconfiguring crosswalks and stop lines. Seeking NCRTPO grant funding for consultant review. Educational component needed.
  • Idaho Stop Law (effective July 1, 2025): Allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yields and red lights as stops (if clear). Staff noted low public awareness.
  • NM4 Alignment Study: NMDOT study from Rover to Bandelier; public comment deadline June 12. Board urged to submit comments (e.g., bicycle/pedestrian concerns).

Council Liaison Report (Councilor Halfman)

  • FY27 Budget: Approved $351 million (down from FY26’s $368 million). General fund $113M, joint utilities $95M, enterprise funds $64M, capital projects $26M, internal service $23M, debt service $8M. Salaries and benefits ~1/3 of total. Public Works budget $63M. Revenue increase of $17M due to GRT rate increase to 0.625% (total rate 7.6875%) effective July 1, 2026. Unassigned fund balance target raised to 25% of general fund revenues (from 20%) due to GRT volatility.
  • Other Council Actions (May 5): Renewed Main Street MOU; adopted distracted driving penalty table; introduced ordinance allowing three consecutive terms for board members (subject to voter approval).

Staff Report (Public Works Director Eric Martinez)

  • Bike Month proclamation to be read at May 12 council meeting. National Public Works Week proclamation May 19.
  • Finch Street Extension project: Five bids received; award likely June 9 council meeting.
  • Traffic crews refreshing striping, sidewalks, and vegetation trimming.
  • Atomic City Transit awards: Rural Transit System of the Year (2025) and Standard of Excellence from Avail system. New electric buses being built in Oakland, CA; expected delivery late fall 2026.
  • Transit driver shortage: Study underway with Stantech to evaluate service reallocation (including Saturday service). LADP losing drivers to LANL shuttle services.
  • Board discussion on lunch-hour shuttle from LANL to downtown: LANL security restrictions and federal funding rules limit public transit on lab property.
  • Evacuation planning: Tabletop exercise scheduled; Rendija Canyon evacuation route improved annually.

Key Outcomes

  • The board unanimously approved the agenda and March 5 minutes.
  • No formal motions or votes were taken on policy actions; staff will return with recommendations:
    • North Road/Urban Street four-way stop analysis to Transportation Board on June 4, 2026, with final recommendation to council by June 23.
    • Diamond/Sycamore pedestrian study results expected within two months.
    • Central Avenue parking removal assessment with LACDC outreach in next 1–2 months.
    • Trinity Drive project award to council on May 19.
    • Speed camera program returning to council June 4 or June 19.
    • Green bike lane feedback survey to be distributed within a week.
  • Next regular Transportation Board meeting: June 4, 2026, with potential items: EV fleet metrics, four-way stop recommendation, fire station update, and permanent Ashley Pond ballards update.

Meeting Transcript

Alright, it's 5 30, so the meetings call the order. And I'll do a quick roll call. Member Chappelle, Member Connolly, Member Zowski, Member Gebert Kleinrath, and Member Hampton in uh in person. And Member Edwards online. Member Muck is absent. Does anyone have any comments on the agenda or changes? Alright, the agenda's approved unanimously. Is there any public comment for items on the agenda? I assume no since there's no public. Does anyone have anything to say about the minutes from March 5th? All right, minutes are proved unanimously. And with that, we'll get to our first presentation. Good to go. Good evening. Keith Oakley, Deputy Public Works Director here with me this evening is Chief Scambalone. Did I get that right? Nailed it. And so we're gonna give you. So there's been some recent events, obviously, that is from fatality a month or so ago. And council asked us to put together a presentation of all the traffic safety uh efforts that we've been doing over the last little while. So this is kind of like a report back to transportation board, and then next week we'll give this presentation to the county council. Um it's just what it's gonna do is I'll give a quick overview, some summary of the crash statistics that I've gleaned from the crash records we received from the night with DOT, just some highlights of that data, and then go kind of through a series of the projects that we have underway or have completed crash data. So what what happens with crashes is uh the police department, typically the police department probably about 99% of the crashes in Los Alamos County or Los Alamos County police, sometimes it's state police, sometimes it's Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department, but typically it's uh LED, they collect a crash report and they feed that data to New High School DOT. Um there's some rules around what's a legitimate crash. So DOT records crashes that are on the within the public right-of-way. And there's a $500 threshold of damage to a vehicle, so anything under that doesn't actually get isn't an official uh crash according to DO to the to the state the way it's written. Um PD does collect a lot more crashes than are reflected here. A lot of them either are less than that threshold, they're kind of like minor fender benders, or they actually occur in private property. So, like the parking lots of Smiths or any other private entity around town. So kind of one of the interesting things going through this process, the numbers I have are much less than if I pull the data from from PD for primarily that's that's the reason why. Um so this is uh being kind of like data fit from PD to actually UNM does that is all the uh records pulling together. So this is what they feed back to us. So when you look at a crash data, you don't want to just focus in on one incident on one year because you want to kind of build a pattern or look at uh multiple years of data to see if there's patterns that get built. Um so we've been we've got crash data from 2019 through 2025, so December 31st of this past year in that period. Umfortunately, we've we've had eight fatalities recorded uh in the county in that seven-year period, about 250 injuries and almost 640 property damage crashes only, and close to 900 crashes in that time period. Also in that time period, we've had eight pedestrian crashes. Uh unfortunately two have resulted in fatality and six injuries, and then in this first four or five months of this year we've had one pedestrian fatality, unfortunately, and one injury pedestrian crash. Um so we're kind of already in line with the kind of average numbers per year that we've been seeing. And then on the bicycle front, fortunately we've had no fatalities, but unfortunately we've had 25 injury crashes involving bicycles and just one property damage. And as I say, when we're looking at crash data, we don't want to just focus in on one severity or one year or one day or one week or one month. So what we try and do is we look at our three to five year average for crashes to get those rates. So the table below that first big one is basically we're looking at the crash rates per the average number of crashes per year during the five-year period. So in general, we average one to a little over one fatalities per year. Um 35, 36 uh injury crashes and close to you know into the 90s for property damage. So on average we uh record around about 130 crashes per year, reportable crashes uh based on this thing. On the pedestrian front, we're around about 0.2 fatalities per year, and injuries about one uh one injury pedestrian involved crash a year, and then on the bicycle front, it's around about four, just a little over four bicycle involved crashes per year when we're looking at five-year averages. Um then how do we kind of judge ourselves? Uh it's kind of hard, but probably one of the easiest ways just by looking at population. Um it's not perfect, but it's probably kind of the quickest way that we can do it. So the the charts on the or the tables on the on the right-hand side are basically comparing Los Alamos Counties per pop per thousand population with the state as a whole, and in general, um we are quite a bit lower than the state average.

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