The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) this week announced the adoption of the New Mexico Pedestrian Safety Action Plan.
The plan provides concrete action items for the department and its partners to focus on over the next five years to reduce the number of pedestrian-involved serious injuries and fatalities in New Mexico, according to a press release from NMDOT.
The action items include infrastructure improvements, informational campaigns, and changes to policies and procedures. NMDOT will begin implementing the plan immediately.
The department developed the plan to address the high rate of pedestrian fatalities in New Mexico. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, in 2019, 6,301 pedestrians were killed in the U.S.; 83 of those fatalities occurred in New Mexico, the highest per-capita pedestrian fatality rate in the country. Additionally, another 95 pedestrians were seriously injured in the state, according to NMDOT’s crash data.
“We must take action, and the department is committed to making pedestrians safer in New Mexico,” NMDOT Transportation Secretary Mike Sandoval said in a statement. “Comprehensive pedestrian safety isn’t just a governor’s priority, it isn’t just a NMDOT priority—it’s a country, state, county, and city priority.”
The project team developed the plan using internal, public, and external stakeholder input, as well as national best practices. Feedback was collected from the public and stakeholders through a comprehensive survey, an input map, focus groups, virtual meetings, and many revisions to the draft plan, NMDOT said. The nearly two-year effort resulted in an informed plan with buy-in from the many partners and stakeholders.
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SOURCE: New Mexico DOT
