Editor’s Note: This following is a contribution by someone who has lived in Albuquerque since birth, decades ago, and whose family has lived here for generations. They remember not only the building of the Montano Bridge, but the Barelas Bridge. 

We all miss the good old days. Let’s face it, things used to be better back then, before everything went to hell. “Progress” they want to call it. Horsefeathers, I say. Nothing but the result of miscreants, scalawags, and ne’er-do-wells changing what was perfectly fine in the first place.

Take Central Avenue.

Remember the good old days, not even that long ago, when you could pleasantly transport one’s self across the Rio Grande River west of Old Town while soaking in scenes such as this?

Ah, those were the days. The good old days before Albuquerque Rapid Transit construction was finished. Back when turning left onto Sunset Road in the photo above made you think. Really think. Nowadays, nobody has to do any thinking at all. It’s just not the same. Not to mention the overwhelming craving for a Creamsicle we used to get back then, just like your Mom used to make by going to the store and buying a box of six or twelve.

I tell ya, it’s just not the good ‘ol days anymore.

Evidently, plenty feel the same way as I do, including some folks with City of Albuquerque Road Department, aka “DMD.” You see, despite the sad fact that there’s no longer any construction work being done on about 99% of Central these days, some DMD folks are celebrating the good old days by placing “Road Work Ahead” signs on places along Central where, sadly, there’s no road work being done.

And to further celebrate the really good old days, these signs are being plopped down in what are now newfangled “bike lanes,” whatever those are. Places for your car to safely sit when you blow out the head gasket on your good old ’74 Vega, I guess. Anyway, these scalawags at the Better Burque “Tactical Urbanism Team” (BBTUT) have documented the good old days in a most pernicious way: by posting placement of these “Road Work Ahead” signs at “SeeClickFix,” which is some newfangled way citizens can report what they see as problems around our community.

Most of these SeeClickFix reports come from good, patriotic, hard-working Americans rightly pointing out graffiti, weeds, the mere fact that homeless people exist, and graffiti. Not so, these BBTUT reprobates. They are callously using this service to inexplicably gripe about the existence of these nostalgic pieces of Albuquerque’s glorious A.R.T. construction past like this:

Alack!

Instead of a “case reference #” as if placement of this sign is a “problem,” we should celebrate such glories of the recent past in the spirit of nostalgia intended, by those patriotically looking back at a simpler, better time. Before things went all to Hell and A.R.T. construction was finished.

While we’re at it, I say we again line Central with orange “Creamsicles” all the way from Coors Blvd. to Louisiana Blvd. Like the good old days. Man, I miss ’em.