Albuquerque, New Mexico

:This article is about the largest city of New Mexico. For other uses, see Albuquerque (disambiguation).

Urban Trends and Issues

Recently, government leaders and many citizens in the city have actively pursued urban projects taken on by cities many times larger. A huge push has resulted in the revitalization of downtown, creating restaurants, offices, and residential lofts. The strip of Central Avenue between First and Eighth streets has become a bustling, albeit short, hub of urban life, creating a big-city feel. Alvarado provides convenient access to other parts of the city. Now, the mayor wants to tackle a rapid transit project to ease some of the city's traffic woes. Light rail is being considered and would initially extend up the Central Avenue corridor from the westside, through downtown, past UNM and the Nob Hill district, and into the Uptown Area http://www.abqrtp.com. The system would later be expanded to cover Rio Rancho and the Northeast.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some citizens and city councilors, especially from the semi-rural pockets in the city, fear Albuquerque may be "growing up too quickly." Their idea is to keep Albuquerque small and sleepy, avoiding increasing crime and traffic, worsening air quality, and enchroachment of the fragile bosque. For instance, 1995's controversial construction of the Montaño Bridge crossing at the Rio Grande resulted in the corridor only being striped for two lanes. Recognizing the need for all four lanes of travel originally intended, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce passed a board position in 2003 supporting the opening of two additional lanes http://www.abqchamber.com/content/divisions/PublicPolicyAndGovernment/PositionPapers/MontanoBridge.pdf. They claim this measure is necessary to ease West Side] traffic woes. Another road issue is the extension of Paseo del Norte on the westside, which could cause increased traffic through Petroglyph National Monument.

Related Topics:
Bosque - Petroglyph National Monument

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Elsewhere, a sort of middle ground has been struck with the passage of the West Side Strategic Plan, which provides strict rules concerning building permits for the extreme western fringes of the city http://www.cabq.gov/planning/publications/westside/5_Section_B.pdf. This act is to encourage in-filling developments and discourage the fleeing of wealthy residents to outlying suburban areas, leaving an impoverished central city. In fact, Albuquerque has always been made efficient land use. Urban sprawl is roughly bound by the Pueblo of Sandia to the north, the Pueblo of Isleta and Kirtland Air Force Base to the south, the Sandia Mountains to the east and Petroglyph National Monument to the west, making sense to reuse land within the city. For instance, a gas station along Eubank Boulevard that closed in 2001 was replaced by a strip mall in a matter of months.

Related Topics:
Pueblo - Kirtland Air Force Base - Sandia Mountains

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Partly because of the aforementioned geographical and legislative constraints, much of the growth in the metropolitan area is taking place outside of the City of Albuquerque itself. In Rio Rancho to the northwest, the communities east of the mountains, and the incorporated parts of Valencia County population growth is upwards of twice that of the city. The primary cities in Valencia County are Los Lunas and Belen, both of which are home to booming industrial complexes and new residential subdivisions. Rapid growth in the area is a very real and very recent thing. The Mid Region Council of Governments (MRCOG), which includes constituents from throughout the Albuquerque area, was formed to insure that these governments along the middle Rio Grande would be able to meet the needs of their rapidly rising populations. MRGOC's cornerstone project is the New Mexico Rail Runner Express, a commuter rail line that serves the region http://www.mrcog-nm.gov/commuter_rail.htm. Phase I, which runs on existing Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway tracks between Belen and Bernalillo, is set to begin operation in Fall, 2005, with stops at the urban centers along the way.

Related Topics:
Valencia County - Los Lunas - Belen - Mid Region Council of Governments - Commuter rail - Burlington Northern Santa Fe - Bernalillo

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the summer of 2005, ACORN community groups placed a minimum wage initiative on the October 4th ballot. The initiative would create a city wide minimum wage of $7.50. Critics say they are preparing an aggressive fight to defeat the measure.

Related Topics:
ACORN - Minimum wage

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~