Major Consequences for Los Alamos

A developer wants to build as many as 11 homes on a one-and-a-half acre lot in Los Alamos with access from a quiet road that is less accustomed to vehicular traffic than to walkers and joggers, dog walkers, children on bikes, and parents with infants in strollers.

The County Planning Department is in the process of granting the developer’s request for access from this road even while two other possibilities would be less problematic. If allowed, the community’s enjoyment of this section of road would be significantly influenced by a considerable increase in vehicular traffic and this impact would be unmitigable.

The Planning Department has not taken sufficient account of the one-lane bottleneck at the end of this road. With greatly expanded vehicular traffic, accident and injury are more likely to result. To this, add the transportation planning supervisor’s complacent remark that the county need not be concerned with accident and injury here because “Liability is covered by design immunity as long as we follow adopted county/federal standards and guidelines.” Further, this supervisor woefully underestimated the increase in road traffic arising from an additional 11 homes and from the draw resulting from widening the road.