Balloon Fiesta Park & Ride Problems 2010 (bus, move, train)
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It's pretty clear now we should have gone earlier, but for someone who has never gone before, ...
Ya should have posted before you lit out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Riverdog
We weren't dying to see the whole mass ascension, ...
I can't see going to the trouble of getting to the Fiesta without
seeing the whole thing. Get hot chocolate and/or coffee and
breakfast burritos and other such breakfast items from the vendors
and just mill around and gawk at stuff. That's what makes the Fiesta.
Not using the Rail Runner for this is really stupid.
They could run people to the park by just stopping the train right
on Alameda and letting people walk for a half-mile to the park.
Yup, not using the Rail Runner for this is really stupid.
Yup, not using the Rail Runner for this is really stupid.
Mortimer, aren't you someone who typically opposes additional rail stops? I find this position interesting.
There's no station platform at the location, which runs afoul of ADA. That means one needs to be built for this purpose (running into that too many stations bit).
And the question becomes who should bear the burden of the construction cost. It's state-owned land, and it's a city-owned problem. The train loses money, and so that slice of the pie won't be good for fixing the problem, while Zia Rd. and Montaño Rd. are still not done. If the feds kicked in some funding, it'd be honest-to-goodness pork.
I imagine in a few years such a platform would pay for itself in park & ride savings (not to mention general traffic headaches), but don't see it happening anytime soon. CABQ, AIBF & NMRR all have more pressing needs.
Aries63, the biking option is a GREAT IDEA!!! I live right next to the Balloon Park and travel the North Diversion biking trail often. Parking in the Vista Del Norte neighborhood off of Osuna and Vista Del Norte Drive is a good idea because there won't be much traffic to get to that parking spot.
You can also park in the Journal Center and there is a entrance to the path just west of Rutledge and Masthead. Just be careful not to park in unauthorized parking lots in this area.
Like Aries said, the ride is flat and can be done by someone of just about any fitness level or age (the only two "hills" are when you go under Paseo and Alameda) . It is less than 3 miles and only 10 minutes to get to the bike valet, which is FREE!!!! There is absolutely no traffic/cars to worry about. If you go at night or early morning when it's dark, bring a light just in case and you'll be set.
The best thing about the bike valet (besides that it is free $, stress-free, and good for your health) is in the morning you can capture pictures of the balloonists landing in the areas along the trail and in the journal center.
You can save the $10 you were going to spend on parking and buy a Krispy Kreme donut since you earned it by biking over.
Thanks for the back-up, TexasRandi! I can see how the vast majority of people coming from out of town won't plan ahead for this option, but for locals who have a bike it should be a no-brainer. The options for locals are: 1) drive and deal with godawful traffic, 2) pay $$ for a shuttle bus, or 3) ride a bike, tricycle, or unicycle for free from someplace along the North Diversion channel (heck, even jog for that matter). Hmmmm... which one makes the most sense?
I thought the RailRunner was supposed to eventually add a spur into the Park just for Balloon Fiesta use. It wouldn't mean adding a permanent extra stop for normal commuting. I'm going to Denver soon and am practically salivating over the thought of using their light rail system.
Oops. I forgot to mention - we always buy our Park N Ride tickets ahead of time, on-line. Apparently many of the people showing up this past weekend did not purchase advance tickets, so the city really has no way of knowing how many folks will show up to buy tickets on-site.
After exercising, you continue to burn calories at an increased rate.
The actual bicycling bit might use the 150-200 calories, but the increased
metabolic activity will burn just as much. It's a fact that people who
exercise a lot burn more calories than sedentary people whilst they sleep.
aires63-who biked -- walking beside yukon-who rode a bus -- milling about and
gawking at the balloons will burn far more calories over the same time period due
to the fact that they just huffed it on their bicycle rather than riding on the bus.
You forgot to include the 20 minutes riding back, BTW. I'd just like to point that out.
Last edited by mortimer; 10-04-2010 at 01:49 PM..
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