BikeABQ Candidate Survey
Robert Padilla
Bernalillo County District 3 — Democratic Primary
https://www.robertlpadilla.com/
1. Do you bike in New Mexico? Describe your experience biking for transportation and/or recreation.
I do bike ride about twice a week. I usually use the trails but I ride from my house to the University and then go from there to the trails. For me it is primarily for recreation but I am a big supporter of bikes for both transportation and recreation.
2. Describe your vision of a healthy, safe, equitable transportation system for the Greater Albuquerque Region and the roles walking, biking, and public transportation play in that vision.
My vision for a healthy, safe, equitable transportation system for the Greater Albuquerque Region would include more walking and bike routes, especially in areas where they have been neglected. One of my priorities would be in the city to have rumble strips added along the lanes between the car lanes and bike lanes so people would understand when they are veering into the bike lanes and be more aware of the lanes they are in. I do think we need a lot more infrastructure in reference to protecting bicyclists and pedestrians. I also think we need to do some polling and look at data to determine what people need that would help them utilize biking and walking more.
3. What are the biggest barriers to getting people to choose walking, biking, and public transit instead of personal vehicles for daily trips in Bernalillo County, and what would you do to address these impediments?
I think some of the biggest barriers to getting people to choose alternative methods of transportation are safety and convenience. Because our city is so large and spread out even the public transportation options, we do have often require traveling between a bus or rail station and home which still necessitates a personal vehicle. We need to bridge the gap between these transportation options to make it seamless and easy so that people will choose them.
Another reason we hear a lot from people who are not willing to take public transportation is that they don't feel safe on our public transportation. I plan to address this by addressing behavioral health issues that often lead to houselessness and individuals struggling with addiction and other mental health issues. Their main form of transportation is the public transportation system and so we need to address their needs as well so that everyone can feel safe and secure using it
4. New Mexico consistently has the deadliest streets of any state in the US, with approximately 400 people killed by vehicles each year while walking, biking, or driving, and another 12,000 people injured. What should Bernalillo County do to improve traffic safety?
As I mentioned before, I think we need to put in place more infrastructure for bike lanes and walking paths for pedestrians. We need to improve the ones that we already have and we need to find solutions and implement more safety measures such as what I suggested before, which is rumble strips between car lanes and bike lanes. We need better striping to identify bike paths and walking paths, as well as the pedestrian crossing zones that when activated flash lights to alert drivers.
5. Bernalillo County’s urban areas have limited space on streets. In order to increase safety and improve mobility, some modes of transportation must be prioritized over others to make the most of this limited space. Please rank how you would prioritize different modes of transportation on city streets, using numbers 1 through 7:
1. Public Transportation
2. Bicycles and Scooters
3. Parking
4. Personal Automobiles
5. Ride Hailing Services (Taxi, Uber, Lyft)
6. Walking & devices that aid people with a disability
7. Freight and Delivery