Santa Fe leaders are working on a new transportation plan aimed at connecting parts of the city without reliance on cars.
A multimodal transportation plan was approved recently after years of discussion, according to KOB 4. The goal is to improve alternate modes of transportation.
"It's looking at flipping the narrative on how we have built out our network over the last 60 years in a sort of prescriptive manner," Erick Aune, officer of the Santa Fe Metropolitan Planning Organization, said.
Aune said work on a new traffic plan began in 2018, but city leaders have discussed transportation issues for more than a decade.
"The way the system has been built out, there is no silver bullet [or] magic pill that's going to come in and change things," he said.
The new plan includes recommendations for reworking city bus routes, redesigning major roadways, and increasing the amount of walking and biking paths, KOB 4 reported.
"A large percentage of trips – vehicle-wise, in the city of Santa Fe – are less than 15 minutes or less than a mile and could be easily done by walking or biking," he said. "But, we don't do that because it's actually very difficult, given the way our system is designed."
The plan also includes intricate data and strategies for improving parking management across the city, according to KOB 4. A report associated with the plan showed that 72% of commercial land in the midtown area of Santa Fe is dedicated to automobiles in the form of streets and parking lots. Only 22% of that land is used for buildings and only 54% of land downtown is allotted to cars.
"What the study shines a really bright light on is that the land-use capacity outside of the downtown area is largely dedicated to parking," Aune said. "The plan isn't being judgmental. It's just saying here's how we do it in these particular areas, and here's the results."
The history of the city contributed to its transportation issues, KOB 4 reported. A majority of the downtown area was built hundreds of years before cars were invented, which left minimal space for driving and parking.
"Santa Fe is basically a spine of roads that come from downtown outward in a post-World War II development pattern that is largely single-family detached dwellings," Aune said. "That makes it really difficult for a fixed roadway to accommodate all those people who may want to walk, who may want to bike and take transit when it's so dispersed."
Several road construction projects are already making use of the new transportation plan, Aune said. The redesign of North Guadalupe Street is projected to include wider sidewalks and bike lanes and will accommodate different means of transportation.
"We're not going to make cars go away," he said. "It's not about a criticism of the cars. We're going to really tweak and change those codes, regulations, and standards that support all modes."
Alan Webber, mayor of Santa Fe, recently spoke out against the plan, according to KOB 4. He said the plan does fully address the city's transportation issues.
"I don't want to settle for good enough; I want Santa Fe to lead the way in recognizing the significance that transportation plays in investments that guide our future," Webber said.
Aune said the plan is one component of an important community issue.
"What do we want to be in Santa Fe in the next 50 years, knowing the last 50 years has delivered this transportation network?" he said.