New signs went up last week at the corner of Cerrillos Road and St. Francis Drive, warning bicyclists about catching their wheels in the groove for railroad tracks.
The black-on-orange signs put in place Wednesday include a diagram of tracks crossing a lane diagonally, plus the words: "Tracks catch bike wheels."
Megan Arredondo, public information officer for the New Mexico Department of Transportation, said the signs were erected because of a steady stream of complaints about the hazard, including a Tuesday letter in The New Mexican from Loveland, Colo., cyclist Richard Lowinger.
"In order to avoid further accidents, we just figured we would warn the bicyclists to use caution when approaching this area," she said. "I'm told by our bicycle, pedestrian and equestrian coordinator (Tom Trowbridge) that an intersection such as the one at Cerrillos and St. Francis is pretty unique."
Many local bike riders who have fallen at the intersection would agree. For years, city planners have considered plans for an underpass, overpass or some other way of safely funneling pedestrians and bicyclists through Santa Fe's busiest intersection, made more complicated since the New Mexico Rail Runner began running more than a dozen trains a day two years ago.
The new signs come too late for Mokhtiar Bal, who injured his shoulder by falling there Oct. 30.
The 41-year-old native of India said he has occasionally commuted to work on a bike as well as ridden recreationally since moving to Santa Fe 17 years ago.
Oct. 30 was a sunny Saturday, following several days of cool weather, so Bal rode from his home on Maclovia Street to Canyon Road to see friends. On his way home, and wearing his helmet, he turned left off Cerrillos onto St. Francis and caught the front tire of his mountain bike in the rail groove.
"It slam-dunked me onto the cement on my right side, and I log-rolled," he said. "I was thrown to the opposite side — not toward the road, but toward the cement (sidewalk)."
Bal, a medical professional at Concentra Medical Centers, said he did a self-assessment and realized that in addition to abrasions, he had a limited range of motion on his right side, as if he had had a stroke. He said he tried to walk his bicycle home, but as the pain got worse, detoured to his girlfriend's house on Agua Fría Street. She took him to an urgent-care clinic.
Doctors there took X-rays, then had him come back the next day for three-view X-rays. Bal said he had no broken bones, but an orthopedic specialist said he should have a magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) to determine if there are damaged tendons, ligaments or other soft tissue that need surgery.
In the meantime, Bal said, he's been advised to stay away from work for three weeks, until Nov. 22, to keep his arm in a sling and keep taking medication. He said he cannot sleep well or drive his truck because he lacks the strength to steer it or work its stick shift.
Ball said at least two of his co-workers have sustained broken bones falling at the same locale.
"It's ridiculous," he said. "Tourists come here and take their kids on bike trails. ... They need to do something about this poor construction or planning."
Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.
Story Provided by: santafenewmexican.com
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