Albuquerque City Council last night unanimously passed Councilor Isaac Benton’s “Active Streets Initiative” making it possible, upon Mayor Keller’s signature (which is expected), to close some city streets temporarily to motorized traffic. As noted in yesterday’s BB post on the subject, the turn-around time from passage to possible implementation is remarkably rapid. Two weeks!
Thus, it’s so very fortunate we at BB happen to have a prime temporary closure candidate, “shovel-ready,” to inaccurately use the vernacular: Tingley S.W. from Central Avenue to 8th Street immediately parallel to the currently jammed-packed Bosque Path and running along the currently closed Tingley Beach and ABQ BioPark.
We brought up Tingley S.W. before/during the recent repaving of Bosque Path sections under/near Central Avenue; you can read excellent reasons, in our humble opinion, for such a closure to non-motorized traffic here and here. While the repaving work on the Bosque Path is complete, plenty of reasons for temporary closure of Tingley S.W. to motor traffic remain, one reason for every person currently packing Bosque Path to get some exercise during these days of pandemic.
So Tingley S.W. is (still) Better Burque’s proposal (and your support is deeply appreciated, particularly if you live in that neighborhood). What’s your proposed neighborhood street for temporary closure?
The measure just having just been passed by Council, we know of no formal petition process (and with such a quick turn-around time, such a process probably will not be put together). Readers are strongly encouraged to immediately contact the pertinent City Councilor for your proposed closure, also keeping in mind details on roads eligible for such treatment:
The following criteria shall be considered, at a minimum, to determine whether a street would be a good candidate for the Active Streets Initiative:
a. The street does not carry transit services.
b. The street is classified as a collector or local street
c. Access plans shall be considered for roadways that have abutting businesses, including the need for on-street parking, space for takeout, dropoff, pickups, or outdoor table service.
SECTION 3. The Administration shall identify the first set of roadways within two weeks of the adoption of this Resolution and shall make the City Council and the public aware of what roadways have been chosen. These roadways shall remain closed until the current public health order and all social-distancing directives have been lifted.
Don’t know what streets are “collectors” or “local”? Here’s an interactive map from MRCOG illustrating how area streets/roads/stroads/and highways are so classified.
Another consideration is transit, and you can check transit routes here.
Have fun and happy street closure proposing!
Better Burque 
It totally breaks the parameters, but Central from 1st to 8th is my dream and has been for awhile. I’d love to see the lightrail that eventually replaces ART run down the center, raise up the street so it’s all level, and make it a more european-style center-city route.
I’d also really like to see every street that is a current bike-boulevard closed to through-traffic.
A more serious suggestion I think would be Roma, which connects some nice places and a couple neighborhoods with the downtown core. If it continued down Laguna and perhaps Park, it could make a “loop” of sorts through the downtown area. Perhaps that would also help decongest the bosque trail near Tingley Beach?
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Good ideas, JBM! Having ridden down Central this weekday mid-morning, with motor traffic remarkably light, temp and non-so-temp closure from 1st/8th could really help in recovery of that stretch near-term from boarded-up broken windows and longer-term as a place for comfortable strolls between restaurants and retailers. In fact, it might be a “more serious” consideration than Roma (also a great choice) and help heal the City in ways that brings far more folks Downtown near and long-term.
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