Bernalillo County removes roundabouts in Albuquerque neighborhood

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Dangerous traffic circles along Sunset Road in southwest Albuquerque are causing a lot of headaches.

Last week KOB 4 reported on what was happening along the stretch of road and saw firsthand drivers speeding, plowing over the traffic circles. One resident had to replace his fence more than once after a driver ran into his yard.

The county is now taking out these traffic circles. Bernalillo County Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada said he never liked the idea, but the wheels were already in motion for the project when he took office.

“We weren’t a fan of them when they first went in, but as you know it’s really hard to navigate changing things that were already done and put into place before you take office,” said Quezada.

Workers with the county are tearing down the structures residents say are the root of the issue.

“A lot of mistakes were made, but the good thing is if, you know, you made a mistake what you have to do is you have to go back, and you have to fix it,” Quezada said.

However, the change didn’t happen overnight. Concerned resident Jacob Chavez said he and his neighbor reached out to the county more than 20 times to voice their concerns.

“We were thrilled to see that they listened to us and that they are finally taking action on it. Because like I said before, I was just afraid someone was going to get injured or killed on this road because of these roundabouts,” said Chavez.

“I appreciate them letting the county know and going through my office and letting us know. Because if we don’t know then we don’t know if something isn’t working. We heard you, we are going to fix it, we just want to get it out because it’s dangerous,” said the county commissioner.

As for what’s next, the county is heading back to the drawing board to see what will slow down drivers in the area.

The county did a speed study last year to find other solutions. They are in the redesign process and will be reaching out to residents for feedback during the rebuilding process.