Feds urge grant for Albuquerque Rapid Transit plan

The Federal Transit Administration on Tuesday urged approval of a $69 million federal grant to convert the center of nine miles of Albuquerque’s Central Avenue (aka Route 66) into a bus system called Albuquerque Rapid Transit.

The Albuquerque Journal and other media outlets confirmed the FTA’s recommendation, which was expected since Mayor Richard Berry championed the ART idea.

The Journal reported:

Construction could start as soon as late May, the mayor said, near Coors and Central. The rest of the roughly $50 million needed for the project – much of it also federal money – is already in place, city officials said.

The $69 million “Small Starts” grant is crucial to the financing. It still must be approved by Congress – not at all a sure thing.

But Berry and other supporters are optimistic.

They’re right to be optimistic. David Leard of HDR Engineering, lead designer of the project, said no project in President Obama’s “Small Starts” budget has failed to secure funding.

More details about the project:

Crews would build a network of canopy-covered stations in the middle of Central Avenue, roughly every one-quarter to one-half mile between Louisiana and Coors. For most of the route, there would be dedicated lanes – one in each direction usually – for buses to travel in.

That would reduce the traffic capacity for regular cars.

The work would add landscaping, wider sidewalks where there’s room and other improvements.

Another Journal story explained how Albuquerque Rapid Transit would work:

In the heart of Nob Hill, for example, the regular lanes of traffic would be cut in half – from two lanes in each direction to one – to make room for the bus lanes and stations, and there would still be room for on-street parking in both directions.

Transit stations would lie in the middle of the road. Passengers would buy their tickets at kiosks there, reducing the amount of time the bus has to wait for people to board.

The buses would also communicate with traffic lights to get as many green lights as possible.

The goal is to have ART stations and lanes finished by September 2017.

Despite much support from city hall, about 150 businesses in Albuquerque — many of them on Central Avenue — oppose ART. They fear lane reductions and construction will repel potential customers and damage its Route 66 atmosphere.

These business owners formed the Save Route 66 Central to fight ART. At least one city councilor opposes the plan, and another wants more city-held meetings to reassure business owners.

As for the construction period, the mayor said the city will seek to make it as minimally disruptive as possible:

Construction would be handled in chunks of about 2,000 feet at a time. Businesses could expect about two months of construction when crews would be widening sidewalks, resurfacing the roadway and handling other work.

At least one lane of traffic would remain open at all times.

Berry said the city would do what it can to help merchants. He mentioned the possibility of providing low-cost “bridge loans” to help them make it through financially.

One of the reasons Berry is gung-ho about ART is because Albuquerque ranks last of 20 Western cities from national investors due to its lack of a high-density, transit-rich environment. Berry says a vigorous bus-transit system on Central would help resolve that and make Albuquerque more attractive to millennials and big corporations.

Though I like transit-rich and walkable cities such as San Francisco, Chicago and St. Louis, I remain skeptical such a bus-transit system will work in Albuquerque. The Duke City isn’t dense compared to those cities. Also, Albuquerque is one of the easiest towns to commute by car, which seems to belie the need for a beefed-up transit system.

A recent op-ed piece in Albuquerque Business First gave me pause against dismissing Albuquerque Rapid Transit entirely. Indeed, the St. Louis suburb of University City is building a trolley line down the middle of Delmar Avenue. No one is predicting gloom and doom there.

So I remain skeptical, but not so much I’m 100 percent certain about it.

Perhaps a decade from now, naysayers will have been proven wrong, and Central Avenue is as vibrant as it’s been since the Route 66 era began.

Or, in converse, Albuquerque Rapid Transit simply will be called Berry’s Folly.

(Image of Central Avenue in Albuquerque by OpenThreads via Flickr)