In response to recent fatal car crashes, Ted Wyka, the NNSA field office manager, outlined how LANL is addressing road safety, aggressive driving, and the increasing strain on housing and commuting. With over 1,400 new hires anticipated next year, the effects will extend beyond Los Alamos.
This report highlights Wyka’s key points on:
LANL’s plans to reduce reckless driving and alleviate commuter stress.
The use of traffic cameras, speed enforcement, and the need for local law enforcement collaboration.
Housing shortages and their implications for communities in Santa Fe and surrounding areas.
Fire mitigation and its broader impact on land use and community safety.
These challenges affect the wider region, whether or not you work at LANL. What do you think? Are the Lab’s efforts enough, or is more action required?
If only there were a way to move a group of people from one place to another without each person having to drive their own massive, insulated metal vehicle at 80mph while they check their phone and sip their coffee.
Well, it seems the best minds in America haven’t found a viable solution. There must be no alternative.
Allow them to work from home if possible. There are plenty of people who commute to LANL from Santa Fe just to sit in a cubicle for no real reason. The same level of productivity can be achieved through remote work.
In my opinion, distracted driving is the biggest problem. I witness people drifting into other lanes or almost into the median on a daily basis. It appears that both fatalities were the result of drivers being distracted and veering into oncoming traffic. I’m not sure if the proposed solutions would be very effective for distracted drivers. I’d prefer to see police pulling over drivers who are swerving on the road, rather than just focusing on speeders.
The solution is to build more housing, and much denser housing at that. Heaven forbid we consider duplexes. I had a cousin who used to commute from Las Vegas to the labs—it’s just absurd.
I’ve been using the NM Park and Ride for my commute and regret not starting sooner. It tacks on about 15-20 minutes each way due to the LANL shuttles, but I’m saving on gas and reducing the miles on my car. Plus, it’s much less stressful going up and down the hill.