Petition Urges Sidewalks, Lighting on CR 13, NM 126 to Protect Students

A grassroots petition created January 15 by Aj Pacheco asks Sandoval County and state leaders to install sidewalks and improve lighting along County Road 13 and New Mexico Highway 126, citing daily safety hazards for students who walk to Cuba Independent Schools and other local pedestrians. The petition lays out concerns about the absence of pedestrian paths, narrow shoulders and poor lighting and demands immediate action to reduce the risk of pedestrian accidents.

The petition page includes the text of the request, the names of signers and a list of decision makers meant to receive the appeal: Sandoval County commissioners Joshua Jones and Katherine Bruch, and State Representative Derrick Lente. The page signals an organized local effort to move transportation safety from informal concern to formal request, using a public petition to document community support and to focus decision makers on specific roadway fixes.

For residents, the issue crosses jurisdictional lines: County Road 13 is under county purview while NM 126 is part of the state highway network. That distinction matters for funding, design standards and the agencies that will need to approve any construction. County commissioners control county capital priorities and maintenance on county roads, and a state representative can press for state funding or coordination where a state highway is involved. The petition targets both levels, reflecting a practical approach to what residents see as an integrated safety problem that affects school commutes and pedestrian travel across municipal boundaries.

The safety concerns in the petition are concrete. Narrow shoulders force walkers close to vehicle lanes during peak travel times, and inadequate lighting reduces visibility during morning and evening hours when students travel to and from school. Those conditions increase the risk of collisions and near misses, particularly in winter months when daylight hours are limited. Petition signers framed these hazards as daily realities rather than isolated incidents, elevating the request beyond cosmetic improvements to a public safety priority.

Civic engagement is central to the petition’s strategy. By collecting signers and naming specific elected officials, the organizers are establishing a public record that can be referenced at county commission meetings, in constituent correspondence and in legislative outreach. For local officials, the petition creates political and administrative pressure to evaluate short-term measures such as interim lighting or shoulder widening, and longer-term investments like sidewalks or formal pedestrian facilities.

For Sandoval County residents, the petition clarifies what comes next: elected officials must respond and outline a timeline for assessment and action. The petition also offers a focal point for community advocacy in the weeks ahead as parents, school officials and commuters watch for replies from the county commissioners and the state representative. The outcome will shape daily safety along CR 13 and NM 126 and signal how readily local government converts citizen concern into infrastructure changes that protect students.