City rolls out new barricades for downtown Albuquerque weekend nights
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It's been a year since the city spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on barricades to help close off part of downtown Albuquerque on weekend nights. The city is now spending an even bigger chunk of money to add new barricades.
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After the turquoise drop-down arms installed in several areas along Central proved to be ineffective in keeping drivers out, the city invested $900,000 to bring in new steel barricades. Their hope is to keep pedestrians safe. 'I think that the primary thing that the city had in mind was keeping people safe,' said Maria Griego, Parking Division Manager.
It's a stretch of Central Ave. between 3rd and 8th Street, closed off to drivers every weekend night in downtown Albuquerque. 'What APD tells us is they want to be able to have Central all the way from here to 2nd Street clear so that they can patrol the area on weekend nights. So we've been trying to find the most efficient way to block off all the numbered streets and block off Central so that APD has access to the Central corridor,' said Dan Mayfield, Department of Municipal Development.
In 2023, the city purchased 32 of the dropdown arms for $300,000. But city officials said they weren't doing enough. When asked if the money was wasted on the arms, Mayfield replied, 'Oh no, not at all. We've been exploring ways for years to keep this area safe. And you know, we just try different things. It's iterations.'
This year, the city went a different route, now bringing in the new barriers. City workers started dropping off the L-shaped steel brackets to the 14 areas along the blocked-off section of Central Ave., ahead of the weekend. 'These are much better looking. They're a lot sturdier and we think just a better system to keep traffic out of downtown,' said Mayfield.
Griego said the city got its best value with these barricades, 'They are 700 pounds. They are built and also created to not be easily removed without the special tools that are needed to remove them and maneuver them around this, you know, around the work area.'
Video from Meridian, the barrier manufacturer, show how effectively they stop cars from driving through.
The city said Albuquerque is the first in New Mexico to get this kind of barricade, which they can move around for events in other areas of town. 'It'll keep the driver safe and minimal injuries to a driver. And then it also keeps the pedestrians safe. So it's, it's a win-win on both sides,' said Griego.
City officials told KRQE News 13 that they've had white brackets on loan from Meridian for the past three weeks. This weekend will be the first time they're rolling out turquoise brackets, now owned by the city. Each bracket also has a slot for a sign, to say something like 'special event' or 'road closure', and could eventually be used for paid advertising.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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