Take the Survey
Lead and Coal Avenues were originally laid out as local streets, Highland Dr and Coal Dr. In the 1930’s city planners conceived a viaduct over the AT&SF Railroad tracks to connect downtown with the growing employment centers at the VA hospital and Sandia and Kirtland bases. They located the viaduct at the current Coal Ave downtown and extended the route east over what became Lead and Coal Avenues. These local streets were not sized as major arterials and the results have been dire. Speeding is rampant and several accidents a year result in serious injuries and vehicles leaving the roadway and striking houses.
With much pressure from the community and support from NM legislators, CABQ has taken on task of fixing this problem. They have installed speed cameras, lowered the speed limit to 30 mph, and installed a system of “rest on red” traffic signals that have helped.
Much remains to be done. The process has progressed to the point where CABQ is taking a survey on how the community wants to address these dangerous traffic problems. The deadline for the survey is Jan. 14, 2026. Take the survey at https://www.cabq.gov/municipaldevelopment/lead-and-coal-corridor-safety-alternatives-survey
Your association is not developing a position at this time. We want to hear the CABQ process and hear full community input. You’re welcome to email your input to theboard@nobhill-nm.com
Older Posts
Request for Input
As of February 2025, the NHNA is considering options to pursue to improve safety on Lead and Coal avenues, and we need the input of our members for these decisions. Please consider the RSA and Traffic Study information below.
The data in the references below are “real world”: data collection is not perfect, sometimes several factors are convolved making it difficult to attribute cause and effect, and traffic (in general) shows significant variability. Nevertheless, it is the best data available.
Please send feedback to theboard@nobhill-nm.com. We will also try to answer any questions you send.
Recent Chronology
The Road Safety Audit (RSA) was a week-long study of Lead and Coal Safety in 2022 by a team of six experts. The RSA examined speed and crash data and the conditions along the roadway. The RSA identified 19 “Findings” (specific issues) and gave each a letter grade based on crash frequency and crash severity. The RSA also listed “Recommendations” (35 in total) to address the Findings.
The Lead-Coal Working Group was formed in the fall of 2022 to respond to the RSA. The Mayor’s Office of the City of Albuquerque organized the Working Group meetings and invited representatives from various city departments as appropriate. The community was represented by participants from the Lead-Coal Safety Brigade, the University Heights Neighborhood Association (UHNA), and the Nob Hill Neighborhood Association (NHNA).
For several of the top RSA Recommendations, the city required a traffic study to examine the impacts on surrounding neighborhood streets and arterials. The traffic study was carried out by Lee Engineering from April-December 2024. The study was primarily to examine three Recommendations: reduction of the speed limit from 30mph to 25 mph, converting Lead and Coal to two-way streets, and converting Lead and Coal to a single lane. Lee held three public meetings.
Slides from December 2024, November 2024, and September 2024.