That Pretty New Symbol of the Alameda Drain Trail

If you have yet to check out the new, first stretch of the Alameda Drain Trail (2nd St. between Montaño and Osuna), you haven’t seen this:

alameda drain sign close-up

The sign and symbol herald several very good ideas in process of implementation:

1. Creating a paved trail all the way from Rio Grande Blvd. at I-40 to the North Diversion Channel north of Alameda Blvd.

alameda drain map

2. Crafting the project through collaboration between four, count ’em, four governmental entities (that’s gotta be a record!):

four governments

3. Designating a symbol for the Trail, something we’ve just never done much around these parts. I guess it’s part of that eternally irritating “we’re poor and don’t deserve nice things” mentality pathologically coursing through our civic veins. This mindset is especially acute when it comes to non-motorized transportation features, where the concept of spending an extra $7 on anything, Trail symbol included, is viewed as lavish.

Hence, the Alameda Drain Trail Project is changing quite a bit around this town, county, conservancy district, and flood control authority. True, it’s still gotta long way to go before completion, and, yeah, the implemented and proposed treatments (e.g., street crossings) might not be perfect now or ever, but the unprecedented government collaboration, extensive public input, and sheer ambition of this project can’t help but put a smile on your face, right down to that pretty leaf symbol.

Speaking of such symbols, maybe we could really splurge outlandishly and spend a few more dollars designing/placing symbols for other non-motorized trails around the area. Perhaps North Diversion Channel Trail could have a symbol of a _______________ (readers can submit ideas here), and Bosque Path could have a _______________ (likewise).

And knowing my readers, I know many of you are reaching for your snark gun right now and filling in blanks with things like “shopping carts” or “cyclists in lycra full of advertising zooming by without saying ‘on your left’,” but we’re not going there.

Think leaf. Bounce off this leaf idea.

Thanks for the leaf, BernCo, City, NMGCD, and AMAFCA!

 

 

 

One thought on “That Pretty New Symbol of the Alameda Drain Trail”

  1. Because the NDCT runs from UNM to the Balloon Fiesta Park (and, once the underpass is created under Indian School, without any contact with “surface traffic”, I’d suggest a hot-air balloon. Perhaps heated at the spout of a “lamp of higher education”/Aladdin-style lamp. No ideas yet for the Bosque Trail, but something suggestive of families with kids (as a subtle reminder to fast riders to share the path with more-vulnerable users).

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