For years, Residents in Vado have been working to try to pave their community’s roads, and one road is getting some relief.
Teresa Zamora has been a Vado resident for over 20 years; she’s seen the community’s dirt roads create countless auto accidents and serious public safety issues.
“Two kids some years ago drowned in one of these puddles,” Zamora said. “Because there is no drainage for the water when it rains. They form not only puddles, big lakes because of the bad conditions of the road, and two little kids drowned. A year ago a man died, he had a heart attack; by the time the ambulance got to his home it was too late. They died, and it is related to the road conditions.”
Zamora says roads need to be capable of providing emergency services.
“If they would have been there in time,” Zamora said. “If there wasn’t these big lakes, if there was drainage on our roads that wouldn’t have happened to those kids.”
The unpaved roads are on private property, and New Mexico’s constitution prohibits the use of public funding on private land.
3 Blocks of Cebolla Lane will now be getting a temporary fix with recycled roof shingles, Johana Bencomo, a community organizer with New Mexico CAFé says the effort is coming with the help of a pilot program from the EPA.
“So the EPA approached us,” Bencomo said. “They said they would partner with a recycling company out of El Paso to donate recycled Asphalt Shingle that has paved roads and parking lots in the past and they donated 60 tons of material to pave Cebolla lane.”
The small shingle pieces ill break up further as they are spread on the road, and harden as cars continue to drive over and rain falls.
Bencomo says this is a first step, but there is a long way to go.
“Out of thousands of miles of unpaved roads in the county,” Bencomo said. “This is only 1,2,3 roads right. And this is only a part, a little tiny part. Even though this is a very big win here. It’s only a tiny part of our organizing work. To organize the community of Vado, and communities alike. To really try to get county commission, and state representatives to make right what was done a long time ago when these communities were developed.”
Teresa Zamora says learning how to organize was essential in getting this road paved, and more people need to learn what it will take to get these roads fixed.
“I’m happy about this,” Zamora said. “But, I’m very mad because the big problem for our community and a lot of communities, we are misinformed, we don’t know where to look for information and we don’t know that we have rights. That’s why it’s so important to organize and get informed and to go talk to the correct persons to speak about our needs.”
Zamora says they will continue to work for a way private roads to become part of the county.
