Poll: Albuquerque Growth (Rio Rancho: smog, mcmansions, condos)

[Hullster]

I would like the city to have smart growth and especially develop the neighborhoods in central albuquerque around downtown. I think the Old Abq highschool apartments are a great move and a rejuvination of barellas (sp?) would be great.

[jack7y]

I am not nearly as knowledgeable about abq as all of you, but this is an interesting topic. I chose an Austin size of about 1.5 million, but would have chosen a bigger size if there weren't some issues such as water, sprawl, transportation and the uniqueness of abq's culture. It would be good to have future development include rail transit and mixed-use development to decrease vehicle trip lengths. Natives or enlightened in-migrants would need to control the development when it comes to aesthetics, for one example, to keep the regional flavor since much future population growth would likely be from people from the eastern half of the U.S. relocating.

[ziaAirmac]

I'd like to see us enjoy the benefits of a 'million man' market, but just enough to do that. Given the Reservations to the North and South and the Mountains to the East, I'm not sure where the other 200,000 people would go. They'll be building on dormant volcano slopes before it's all done.

I'd really like to see development of existing Albuquerque areas into more pedestrian friendly places. There are crosswalks all over town (including big spots like Coronado Center) that just dead end at the property line. If anyone has seen the beautiful wooden bridges over Tramway, I'd like that, on a smaller scale connecting sub divisions to major shopping/working areas and allowing existing trails to pass over major streets. Pedestrians can cruise over without fear and cars don't have to pause for them. You should be able to easily walk from the new Uptown development to Coronado Center and if they want to make it the "lifestyle" center they proposed, I think that's a part of that ideal.

One place that Albuquerque really dropped the ball on was it's sub-division development deals. Many of the new sub-divisions look like they were designed by a board consisting of construction finance execs, oil men and auto execs. The houses are PACKED in, have yards the size of postage stamps no subdivision level walking/biking paths and no local parks. If you want to do something, you're getting in your car. A big miss by the city who should have had the developers required to incorporate these open spaces if they wanted to make money in our town. They did it in the '50's. You're telling me with the advances in building efficiencies and availability of inexpensive labor we've actually gone backwards in profit margin? I have a really hard time buying that.

The city is currently pushing a new 'bike friendly' theme, but I think you'll have to go beyond changing law book verbiage and painting some new bike lanes on already tight streets to get more people comfortable with taking to a bike. I've never seen a painted line stop a Hummer.

[desert sun]

I really like what they are doing with Mesa Del Sol,you will be able to live,work and shop all within walking distance.I do think Abq is the perfect size now but a little growing wouldnt hurt.

[abqsunport]

Zia, I you will find most of the development/sprawl go until they hit all indian reservations, and then Los Lunas will get bigger, Belen Will Get Bigger, etc. (All of which are included in our Metro). You will see the East Mountains become their own side of Albuquerque (hopefully not in my lifetime) and westside may now start referring to which side of the mountain you are on. There is more space to grow in the Metro area than people realize--not neccessarily the city limits.

[ILOVEAUSTIN]

Originally Posted by observe

Just how do you shrink a city?

Get one of those thingamajigs like they had in "Honey I shrunk the kids".

[ILOVEAUSTIN]

It would be bad for the city to shrink now but I personally liked it better when it was about 100,000 people. Going to the "West Side" was like going to another city and there were only a few houses over there. It was nice, I liked it.

[ziaAirmac]

I hear you abqsunport. I've heard of the Rio Grande river valley 'metroplex' before. I've spent time in Los Lunas, Peralta, Bosque Farms & Belen and I hate to think of them as an extension of Broadway Ave. with a San Mateo strip feel to them. I was on the irrigation ditch with a few acres down there and really felt connected to the land and the state's history.

Desert sun, if they follow through with half of what they've promised up there on the mesa and the schools are looking good, I'll be taking my wife and girls there.

[jack7y]

I personally liked it better when it was about 100,000 people

abq must have experienced extremely rapid growth in the span of less than one human lifetime.

[Hullster]

Abq, like almost every other western city, has grown by leaps and bounds just in the last 20-30 years. In central NM, Valencia Co., Rio Rancho, most of the West Side, and the East Mts. are all newer communities which did not exist in their present form 30 years ago.