Worse bus (transit system) in the country? (Albuquerque, Rio Rancho: homes, employment)

[trappedinNM]

As a frequent traveler, I have to say that our transit system could be the worst for any major city I have visited. The mayor should be emabarrassed! For example, I live near the tram, and work near Journal Center. I called the city to have them "plan" my route. The proposed bus route takes over 90 minutes. There is no service on Paseo. I can drive it on a bad day in 15 minutes. I have ridden my bike down the hill nearly as fast (the trip back up is a different story!)

Weekend / after-hour service is almost non-existent. The major work-centers are ignored except in a few cases. Service to / from the airport is a joke.

The city (along with the $500 million WASTED on the southern section of the train to nowhere) could have done so much more in the short-term to alleviate traffic, and reduce oil dependency.

Chime in with your ideas how the city could improve the transit system here. Maybe someday somebody will actually listen.

Here are my thoughts:

Frequent buses traversing the major arteries in a straight line from end to end. For example, Paseo and Tramway to Paseo and Unser. Commanche from Tramway to Commanche and the river. Same for the North / South arteries. They need to run at least every 20 minutes, all day long.

Park and Ride stations. For example, there is currently vacant land at the top of the new Paseo extension. Build a multi-story parking facility that could currently accommodate bus service, and eventually commuter rail a'la the Bart. Marty and Richardson both opposed amending the constitution re: Kelo decision. They should have no problem swiping the land now that it is vacant.

Dedicated bus lanes during peak traffic. From the new Park / Ride stations, run rapid bus routes to the major employment centers. For example, Paseo / Unser to Jefferson Center, Downtown, Uptown, Sandia Labs, etc. These buses would use a dedicated lane to avoid traffic. When they are totally convenient, people will ride them. The ride from Paseo and Tramway to Ventana ranch can take 15 minutes on a Sunday, but 75 minutes during rush hour.

Frequent service. One of the biggest obstacles to using the system in Abq is how infrequent the buses run. It is impossible to plan anything.

A raised monorail system linking major areas, including Sandia / Kirtland, the airport, downtown, Jefferson Center, and then across to Ventana.

As little as two years ago, there was a large vacant piece of land at the NE corner of Paseo and Coors. The city should have grabbed it, and planned for a train / bus transfer station. Now there are $750k+ homes on large lots. It would have made the ideal transfer point for Rio Rancho to Abq route, serving Intel, Cottonwood, Ladera, and so on.

Short-term, with minimal investment:

Carpool lanes on Paseo during rush hour. 3+ riders minimum. Enforcement!

Carpool lanes on I-25 and I-40. See above.


Chime in, gang!

[abqsunport]

Originally Posted by trappedinNM

As a frequent traveler, I have to say that our transit system could be the worst for any major city I have visited. The mayor should be emabarrassed! For example, I live near the tram, and work near Journal Center. I called the city to have them "plan" my route. The proposed bus route takes over 90 minutes. There is no service on Paseo. I can drive it on a bad day in 15 minutes. I have ridden my bike down the hill nearly as fast (the trip back up is a different story!)

Weekend / after-hour service is almost non-existent. The major work-centers are ignored except in a few cases. Service to / from the airport is a joke.

The city (along with the $500 million WASTED on the southern section of the train to nowhere) could have done so much more in the short-term to alleviate traffic, and reduce oil dependency.

Chime in with your ideas how the city could improve the transit system here. Maybe someday somebody will actually listen.

Here are my thoughts:

Frequent buses traversing the major arteries in a straight line from end to end. For example, Paseo and Tramway to Paseo and Unser. Commanche from Tramway to Commanche and the river. Same for the North / South arteries. They need to run at least every 20 minutes, all day long.

Park and Ride stations. For example, there is currently vacant land at the top of the new Paseo extension. Build a multi-story parking facility that could currently accommodate bus service, and eventually commuter rail a'la the Bart. Marty and Richardson both opposed amending the constitution re: Kelo decision. They should have no problem swiping the land now that it is vacant.

Dedicated bus lanes during peak traffic. From the new Park / Ride stations, run rapid bus routes to the major employment centers. For example, Paseo / Unser to Jefferson Center, Downtown, Uptown, Sandia Labs, etc. These buses would use a dedicated lane to avoid traffic. When they are totally convenient, people will ride them. The ride from Paseo and Tramway to Ventana ranch can take 15 minutes on a Sunday, but 75 minutes during rush hour.

Frequent service. One of the biggest obstacles to using the system in Abq is how infrequent the buses run. It is impossible to plan anything.

A raised monorail system linking major areas, including Sandia / Kirtland, the airport, downtown, Jefferson Center, and then across to Ventana.

As little as two years ago, there was a large vacant piece of land at the NE corner of Paseo and Coors. The city should have grabbed it, and planned for a train / bus transfer station. Now there are $750k+ homes on large lots. It would have made the ideal transfer point for Rio Rancho to Abq route, serving Intel, Cottonwood, Ladera, and so on.

Short-term, with minimal investment:

Carpool lanes on Paseo during rush hour. 3+ riders minimum. Enforcement!

Carpool lanes on I-25 and I-40. See above.


Chime in, gang!

I agree with almost everything you said. I would love car pool lanes (for a total of 4 Lanes on I-25, 5 on I-40), but rather a min of 2 people.

It would be so cool if the city would develp a subway type system, but that would never ever ever ever happen.

[mortimer]

It is not necessary to quote a 50-line post if you are the subsequent poster.
Maybe, if one is into the second or third page of posts, but not right after.

> Dedicated bus lanes ... A raised monorail system ....

Dedicated bus lanes will work work great where you are proposing a monorail and are much cheaper than a monorail. The problem is that such a system cannot ever be financed by riders given today's inexpensive gasoline prices.

[Tim Rankin]

Originally Posted by mortimer

It is not necessary to quote a 50-line post if you are the subsequent poster. Maybe, if one is into the second or third page of posts, but not right after.

...that is too funny....

I like the monorail idea - it's fits in with the futuristic image NM is trying to create for itself. The only thing is, when you have a large transportation system linking major hubs, you need smaller, local systems to handle the people when they get to the major hub. I think that's something we don't really have yet, and I'm not sure that buses are the answer.

So maybe we need to start out small. For instance, I thought the trolley idea for Central was o.k., but it seemed to generate a lot of gnashing of teeth. Say a monorail hub were to serve UNM, and upon arriving you can take a trolley to your final destination...that works. Once we have lots of mass transit available locally, the larger network will "work."

Another challenge for Albuq is how spread out it is. A subway/metro works great in a place like DC that is so concentrated, but not as well here.

[trappedinNM]

I'd start with the major desinations and employment centers: Kirtland/Sandia, UNM, Downtown, Airport, Uptown, Jefferson, Intel, and Balloon Fiesta Park. I might have missed a few.

One possible loop: Central and Tramway WB to Eubank, SB to Sandia Labs (Eubank gate), WB to Kirtland (Wyoming gate), NB to Central, WB to UNM, SB to the Airport, WB to 2nd, NB to Downtown, NE to West Frontage, NB to Theatres/Renaissance, NB to Jefferson Center, EB Paseo to Tramway, SB Tramway to Central. At Jefferson Center, a connecting West-Side loop could tie in and serve Coors, Ventana, Cottonwood, Intel, etc.

A few big loops with some well-placed branch lines could handle many of these. Run them 24/7/365. They would avoid traffic completely. If I were King for a day!

[Steve Hazzard]

Originally Posted by trappedinNM

As a frequent traveler, I have to say that our transit system could be the worst for any major city I have visited. The mayor should be emabarrassed! For example, I live near the tram, and work near Journal Center. I called the city to have them "plan" my route. The proposed bus route takes over 90 minutes. There is no service on Paseo. I can drive it on a bad day in 15 minutes. I have ridden my bike down the hill nearly as fast (the trip back up is a different story!)

Weekend / after-hour service is almost non-existent. The major work-centers are ignored except in a few cases. Service to / from the airport is a joke.

The city (along with the $500 million WASTED on the southern section of the train to nowhere) could have done so much more in the short-term to alleviate traffic, and reduce oil dependency.

Chime in with your ideas how the city could improve the transit system here. Maybe someday somebody will actually listen.

Here are my thoughts:

Frequent buses traversing the major arteries in a straight line from end to end. For example, Paseo and Tramway to Paseo and Unser. Commanche from Tramway to Commanche and the river. Same for the North / South arteries. They need to run at least every 20 minutes, all day long.

Park and Ride stations. For example, there is currently vacant land at the top of the new Paseo extension. Build a multi-story parking facility that could currently accommodate bus service, and eventually commuter rail a'la the Bart. Marty and Richardson both opposed amending the constitution re: Kelo decision. They should have no problem swiping the land now that it is vacant.

Dedicated bus lanes during peak traffic. From the new Park / Ride stations, run rapid bus routes to the major employment centers. For example, Paseo / Unser to Jefferson Center, Downtown, Uptown, Sandia Labs, etc. These buses would use a dedicated lane to avoid traffic. When they are totally convenient, people will ride them. The ride from Paseo and Tramway to Ventana ranch can take 15 minutes on a Sunday, but 75 minutes during rush hour.

Frequent service. One of the biggest obstacles to using the system in Abq is how infrequent the buses run. It is impossible to plan anything.

A raised monorail system linking major areas, including Sandia / Kirtland, the airport, downtown, Jefferson Center, and then across to Ventana.

As little as two years ago, there was a large vacant piece of land at the NE corner of Paseo and Coors. The city should have grabbed it, and planned for a train / bus transfer station. Now there are $750k+ homes on large lots. It would have made the ideal transfer point for Rio Rancho to Abq route, serving Intel, Cottonwood, Ladera, and so on.

Short-term, with minimal investment:

Carpool lanes on Paseo during rush hour. 3+ riders minimum. Enforcement!

Carpool lanes on I-25 and I-40. See above.


Chime in, gang!

AHHH..., pardon me if I missed it in the posting, but what location/area is the posting referenced to? The posting is in the ABQ forum, as are all the NM postings, so ABQ is the referenced city?

[trappedinNM]

Albuquerque.