Santa Fe Neighborhood Street Safety Study

Neighborhood Resident

The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the City of Santa Fe have partnered to conduct a road and street safety study to assess the feeling of safety by the residents of the neighborhood in comparison to safety data. These perceptions are recognized to be contributing factors to livability.  

The study area was selected based on its residential context and identified street safety needs derived from traffic crashes in the area and the presence of schools, parks, and multi-modal trails. The methods included gathering residents’ unique experiences and pairing them with a technical analysis. The study found that residents have a variety of needs and concerns that are unmet by the system as it exists today. Many of the expressed concerns were corroborated by existing condition data. Using these data, we were able to identify possible design solutions for key locations.  Our conclusions are that design elements of street safety could enhance the livability of the neighborhood, the feeling of safety in the residents, and the safety of its transportation system.  

We present the study in the form of this story map to illustrate our findings and remain transparent in our work to the public. We hope that it may simultaneously serve as a tool for use by decision makers. Included is a list of recommendations that resulted from the comparative analysis between public input received from the community for this effort and the existing conditions and safety analysis performed. If implemented, these future street safety enhancements could retro-fit the transportation system into one more closely aligned with the needs of the residents in the context of a neighborhood system.  

This study is intended as a pilot project to address areas where an outdated street design within Santa Fe’s transportation system may be negatively affecting the quality of life of its residents. Street design elements that result in slower speeds or otherwise enhance safety are detailed for decision makers and the public with the recognition that there are very few easy and simple remedies that can occur quickly or without thoughtful analysis and financial resources. 

Please note that all improvements must follow the processes put in place by the City of Santa Fe, and cannot occur without following these processes. 

The development of an existing conditions assessment was a crucial step in formulating a comprehensive neighborhood street safety plan. This assessment involved a detailed analysis of the current state of the streets, considering factors such as street characteristics, traffic volume, speed, transit, pedestrian and cyclist facilities, and existing safety measures. By thoroughly assessing the existing conditions, the safety analysis, and the public perception, the street safety plan can be tailored to address specific challenges, prioritize areas of concern, and lay the foundation for effective safety interventions.

The following maps include most of the information gathered for the area. Scroll to the right to review all maps developed for the neighborhood area.

An online survey and an open house were conducted to gather public perceptions on safety needs and concerns in the neighborhood. The survey aimed to engage residents and provided guidance on the concept of street design.

It covered street concerns in the area, travel patterns, existing traffic calming measures, and demographic information.

The public comment period commenced on December 20, 2022, and concluded on February 3, 2023. To notify the public about the start and end of the comment period, various tools were employed, including social media releases, postcards, and flyers. The survey included 19 questions and took approximately 10 minutes to complete.

The effort received more than 250 responses from the community, resulting in a high confidence level (90 percent) and a low margin of error (5 percent) survey.  Comments related to traffic safety can be seen in the comparative analysis dashboard below. A visual representation (word cloud) of the comments shows speeding, traffic, and specific streets as common concerns across respondents.

The Santa Fe MPO has recently implemented a Safe System approach for the region, through the  Local Road Safety Plan . The Safe System approach is based on the principle that humans make mistakes and those mistakes should never lead to death and requires a supporting safety culture that places safety first and foremost in road system investment decisions. In implementing such an approach, street design and management should encourage safe speeds and manipulate appropriate crash angles to reduce injury severity. The safety section focuses on a speed analysis and a crash analysis to inform the recommendations, together with the public input.

Speed Analysis Research has demonstrated that faster vehicular traffic increases both the risk and severity of collisions with those vehicles. The following graphic demonstrates the increasing likelihood of a pedestrian fatality as vehicles speeds increase.

Therefore, it is critical that road safety interventions focus on the most effective method of preventing deaths and serious injuries on the road network: reducing vehicular speeds. The Urban Design Guideline from the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) reports that for every additional 3.3 feet of width added to a lane, speeds are predicted to be 9.4 mph faster.  The project team conducted a speed analysis based on data from the City of Santa Fe and Urban SDK, a technology provider that aggregates location-based service (LBS) data from cellphones and other devices to understand mobility patterns.

The speed analysis developed used the 85th percentile speed and compared it to current posted speed limits. This approach retroactively allowed for a comparison of the actual speeds most people are driving at (85 percent of drivers) to the posted speed limits by segment, resulting in a map of the primary areas of vehicle speeding.  The following map shows the speed differential (where drivers are speeding) compared to survey comments on concerns and where traffic calming improvements are needed.

Move the arrows right or left to compare the neighborhood comment density with the speed differential map (it shows where vehicle speeds are high compared to posted speed limit).

The available crash data collected from official crash reports compiled by the NMDOT consists of the most recent rolling 10-year data, covering the period from 2011 to 2019. To analyze crash data effectively, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recommends collecting 3 to 10 years of historical data from previous years. 

The map displays information on fatalities, injuries, and property damage-only crashes throughout the region. Additionally, it includes data on poverty levels based on census block information and transit routes, providing a comprehensive overview of relevant factors for the planning and analysis of road safety measures due to crashes.

The comparative analysis process entailed a thorough examination of community-identified concerns and the existing conditions and safety analysis data to identify correlations and patterns in need of improvement from the residents’ perspectives. As a result, detailed information was obtained for each corridor, providing valuable insights into the unique experience residents have on each street.

The dashboard tool below was developed to facilitate the exploration of this information. Within the tool, you can select specific corridors and review relevant details, such as comments from the community, speeding characteristics, corridor attributes, and general information.

The recommendations were derived through a comparative analysis that involved examining community input from the street safety survey alongside the existing conditions and safety analysis data. This thorough analysis provided detailed insights into the unique needs of each corridor. As previously mentioned, these recommendations are presented on a corridor basis, considering their role within the broader street network and the importance of continuity throughout the region. The findings indicate that many public perception concerns were validated by the existing conditions and safety data.

The recommendations, depicted in the figure below, encompass various aspects, including multimodal connectivity, addressing missing infrastructure, implementing traffic safety improvements, and incorporating typical traffic calming strategies (refer to the traffic calming toolbox). It is important to note that all recommendations are included as part of a comprehensive traffic calming safety strategy, as traffic calming plays a crucial role in enhancing street safety for all road users. The aim is to create a complete street system that prioritizes safety within the overall street safety framework.

It should be noted that few of the recommendations can be implemented without engineering studies to determine recommendation feasibility through corridor studies, crosswalk studies, and the use of the Traffic Calming Guidelines.  These studies could involve more detailed traffic counts, level of service (LOS) analysis, and/or further speed data collection to compare against the volume counts, warrant studies, etc.  These could also include additional countermeasures to help improve neighborhood livability and safety.

Within the City of Santa Fe, the work of making a more multi-modal and livable city is already underway. Current major City street projects to improve the pedestrian and cyclist environment are in progress on Harrison Rd., Bishops Lodge Rd., Henry Lynch Rd., Guadalupe St., and at the Rail Trail as it crosses St. Michaels Drive. Additionally, what was formerly known as the “Traffic Division” has been renamed the “Complete Streets Division” and a Complete Streets Resolution was adopted by the City of Santa Fe in 2022.  Current major NMDOT projects include improving pedestrian and bicycle facilities along Cerrillos Rd. between St. Michaels and St. Francis, and the overpass of St. Francis and St. Michaels.

Additionally, a study of Agua Fria between Siler and Osage revealed a possible new design that balances the need for it to function as an important thoroughfare while simultaneously serving as a residential street with space for safe walking and biking.

Precedence for the type of improvements recommended here are widespread throughout the city and widely supported. The recommendations of this study vary in extent from major redesigns and reconstructions to minor restriping.

It is recommended that the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe MPO coordinate on how to best prioritize the following recommendations and to use temporary demonstration projects for implementation. High speed differentials, crash rates, and severity of crashes should be considered in the prioritization of recommendations.

Temporary demonstration projects of street safety infrastructure improvements is a valuable tool because it allows for quick and cost-effective experimentation and prototyping of design interventions. By using temporary materials and low-cost solutions, the City of Santa Fe can test out different street safety measures and gather real-world data on their effectiveness (measuring before and after is key for validating efforts). This agile approach enables rapid iteration and adjustment based on observed outcomes, leading to more refined and impactful permanent designs.

Secondly, temporary demonstration projects promote community engagement and participation in the planning process. Involving residents, business owners, and other stakeholders in the implementation of temporary interventions creates a sense of ownership and empowers the community to actively contribute to shaping their streets. This collaborative approach fosters a sense of pride and investment in the neighborhood, ultimately leading to greater acceptance and support for permanent street safety improvements.

Overall, temporary demonstration projects offer a practical and inclusive approach to street safety infrastructure improvements. They facilitate innovation, enable data-driven decision-making, and strengthen community relationships, leading to safer and more vibrant streets that meet the unique needs and aspirations of the local neighborhood population.

For larger projects, examining various existing plans including the Local Road Safety Plan, the Metropolitan Transportation Plan, the Bicycle Master Plan, the Capital Improvement Program, and the Transportation Improvement Program is a strategy for identifying funding sources for projects in the neighborhood that serve the vision of this study concurrent to the visions previously set forth by those documents.

In addition, the City of Santa Fe Land Use Division is undergoing a city code rewrite. This will include changes to how new roads are developed by the private and public sector, with the intent of prioritizing all modes of travel.

The City of Santa Fe Public Works Department developed a  traffic calming program (TCP)  in 2000, which has been revised in 2004 and 2013. The program’s purpose is to develop an approach to calm and manage traffic and improve neighborhood safety and livability for neighborhoods experiencing traffic impacts.

This study intended to proactively determine areas where traffic calming is needed within the specified neighborhood and serve as an example methodology to be replicated across the region. For starting an application to the city's traffic calming program follow the link below:

Next Steps  

Developing this study was an extremely informative experience for City and MPO staff. We hope it will be an effective tool to improve street safety in Santa Fe. We are working together to develop new policies and procedures that will support these findings. Please reach out to Santa Fe MPO’s Director Erick Aune if you have any questions or comments about this study. ( ejanune@santafenm.gov ). Please note, although the City is in the process of implementing new ideas regarding traffic calming, the Traffic Calming Policy is still in place and will need to be followed as part of current policy. Other improvements that fall outside the scope of traffic calming such as street lighting will be required to follow existing policies.

If you would like to reach out to the City and discuss possible options including short-term, mid-term or long-term improvements related to street safety please reach out to the MPO and detail the issue you wish to address and MPO will assist with scheduling an initial consultation.

The consultation will include a review of the concerns being brought to light and consideration of courses of action that may be deemed most appropriate to address the concern.

To report other issues related to weeds, trash, litter, or noise please utilize the online  Constituent Services  report and request tool.