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The City of Las Cruces and MPO area is limited to eight usable bicycling facilities that are open to the public. The existing facilities do not connect to one another and have poor design and safety issues that need to be addressed. Seven of the eight bicycle facilities are located on the southern end of the City of Las Cruces near the NMSU campus and best benefit students who live in this area of the city. While the placement of the facilities near NMSU does affect a large bicycle riding population, it does not support a functional and useable bicycle system for the remainder of the city and its residents.
The remaining areas of the city and the MPO that do not have any form of bicycling facilities do have the potential to provide viable bicycle transportation by utilizing the existing roadways and drainage way systems. These roadway and drainage way systems have the existing rights-of-way to allow for the construction of new bicycling facilities and provide direct connection to most bicycling destinations.
As the Las Cruces area continues to grow in both population and in area, the impact that motor vehicles place on the roadway network will increase, as will the demand for alternative modes of transportation. The City and other local governments within the MPO jurisdiction can use bicycle facilities to help alleviate congestion, improve air quality, reduce the dependence on automobiles, and provide an enjoyable form of transportation and recreation.
Several estimates have been made as to bicycle usage within the Ls Cruces area. The first is the Means of Transportation to Work (MTW) information provided in the 1990 Census (see Table 5). Bicycling information within the MTW places bicycle usage at 1.1% for the City of Las Cruces. Based on this information and with a population projection of 159,656 persons by the year 2020 (see Table 3), the MPO area could have bicycle usage for work travel alone be close to 1,700 persons. This is assuming that the travel to work information within the City of Las Cruces will be valid for the entire MPO area in the future.
In another comparison, the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan places bicycle usage by one member of a household at approximately 10.8% of all households in the City. If this estimate holds true for all of the MPO area and for the year 2020, approximately 6,612 households will have a bicycle user. The growth projections and user information provided above indicates that potential bicycle riders could successfully utilize a system within the Las Cruces area as the population continues to increase. This is also true when considering other bicycle uses or destinations, particularly in the areas of exercise and fitness, leisure, school, and recreation bound trips.
Estimates within the Bicycle Facilities and System Master Plan (BFSMP) survey place bicycle ownership is approximately 67% of all households. Also, 57% of households indicated that at least one household member uses their bicycle on a weekly basis. This gives reason to believe that bicycle usage could increase with the development of bicycle facilities.
Forty-two percent of households questioned within the Bicycle Facilities and System Master Plan (BFSMP) survey responded that they were aware of existing bicycle facilities within the City of Las Cruces. This could be considered high since only eight facilities are currently in place and they are centralized on or near the NMSU campus. Also, 77% of households stated that bicycle facilities were needed for the area and 73% of all households stated that they would use such facilities if they were provided.
Preferred riding surfaces, distances, and safety are three of the most important issues to address when implementing bicycle facilities. Results from the BFSMP survey have the preferred riding surface as city streets at 69% of responding households and city sidewalks came in second at 10%. Bicycle riding distances were well balanced between 1 and 5 miles without regard to the destination of the bicycle trip. Also, 52% of households stated that safety should be the most important issue to address when implementing a bicycle facility; the second most important being system completeness/connectivity at 13%. Safety issues arose when BFSMP respondents were asked why they did not ride their bicycles more often (34%). A lack of time was stated as the second reason.
Several funding sources provide for the development of bicycling facilities. ISTEA has two funding categories that are available to communities to build bike facilities, enhancement and Symm's (recreational) funds. Other sources include dedicated taxes, bicycle registration fees, and various State of New Mexico grants. However, the amount of all of these funds is very limited.
In light of fiscally constrained budgets, bicycle lanes present a more cost effective use of public funds as compared to elaborate bicycle paths. Bike paths, in general, use a separate right-of-way from that of a normal road or street. Paths also present themselves for higher costs attributed to construction improvements and maintenance. As compared to the installation of a bike lane as part of an existing road's right-of-way and driving lanes, most communities can save money on construction and right-of-way acquisition. Also, most bicycle riders prefer to travel along roads and streets, because they provide the most direct route to their destination.
The City does realize the development of bicycling facilities, for both transportation and recreation, will not replace the use of automobiles or the need for other types of parks or recreation areas. The City must also realize there is the need for bicycle facilities and the facilities would not be required or place on each and every street.