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Yeah, save their original store in Nob Hill and a single Satellite directly across from UNM (which would do fine even if they put an elevated viaduct down Central), Flying Star doesn't even operate any restaurants in the Central corridor anymore. They pretty much cleared out of anywhere near the proposed route well before anyone was even talking about ART.
I have qualms about ART too - at least in its current configuration - but don't kid yourself that the Free Press is anything approaching an unbiased voice on the subject. For whatever reason they (and one extremely libertarian reporter/editor in particular) have an axe to grind about ART and this has been apparent since their very first coverage of the proposal. This despite their own poll which showed their readership supported and opposed ART in almost equal measure...
I used to hang out at the Satellite across from UNM quite a bit until a year ago, and heard from my buddies who still go there that it has emptied out a lot since then. And I didn't take up much space.
Anyway-- I never claimed that ABQ Free Press was an "unbiased voice". I just avoid the Albuquerque Journal as much as possible and don't even know-- does the Journal support Berry's ART or are they against it? I would expect any conservative-leaning paper to oppose public transit projects like this but don't know if they have taken a stand.
While I agree that transit dollars would be more effectively spent expanding existing service, I don't see that as a reason to oppose this project. As others have mentioned it's not likely we're going to get the Feds to pay for 85% of incremental improvements. Meanwhile, while I agree that if I were a business owner on the very small portion of Central between Girard and Carlisle – the most prime shopping area – I may have nothing to gain from improved transit on Central. Few of my clientele are coming from East Central, so it's all downside risk for me. But what about the many more businesses and communities on Central that are East of Carlisle? All of Albuquerque will benefit if that area improves because it is still a central and denser part of town – and more viable for transit oriented development than other parts of town – and carries the potential for Route 66 branding.
Seems to me the best way forward is to find a way to sweeten the deal for businesses between Carlisle and Girard, whether it's parking or beautification for something else that would give business owners they confidence that they would benefit from the project.
While I like electric buses much more than stinky diesel or CNG offerings, the ever-skeptical journalists at the journal seem to have left out one minor niggling detail:
Who's paying for the bus power lines, and what will those make ART end up looking like?
A web of black cables suspended above the street kinda make it feel like you're in a cage. Nothing like those blue skies for tourism.
Ultracapacitor-driven buses like those in Shanghai don't need lines with brushes- at every scheduled stop they have a sort of "electric umbrella" where the few seconds it's docked are more than enough to give it enough juice to make it to the next umbrella. I bet those would even be cheaper than putting up new power poles every 20 feet along Central. They've had flywheel-driven buses in Europe for nearly a century using the same principle.
Also, for whatever reason, in San Francisco, conventional electric buses always seem to be breaking down, be it from power line failures or whatever. You'd figure there's fewer moving parts but the uptime for Albuquerque's fossil buses is actually quite good.
As someone who is seriously considering a move to ABQ I can tell you that your city would be many times more exciting a prospect (and I AM already excited about it), if there was a serious discussion taking place about building a light rail network there, instead of an impasse about speeding up an existing bus route. I don't mean to over simplify the issues, but this is the kind of thing potential future residents like myself would love to see.
Ive seen light rail referenced a few times on this thread but get the impression it has never been under serious consideration. If that's true, why not? Is it not wanted by residents or has it been ruled out by government? One poster mentioned that a study had taken place some years ago but never built upon. Has there ever been pressure from residents to explore the possibility of light rail more, or is it just not a 'thing"?
When I look at ABQ I see a relatively flat, relatively compact city with distinct districts (for want of a better word) that could benefit from being connected to each other - and of course connected to Downtown and Central. I see an obvious hub at the Alvarado Transportation Center. I rode the LA Metro light rail system earlier this year and it is quite beautifully designed in parts, with rights of way carved out in the face of some interesting topography. I can imagine something similar in ABQ.
Anyway, I'm an outsider and I'm here to ask and learn. Why no hard push for light rail in ABQ? Why fight over an imperfect, partial transit solution like ART instead?
As someone who is seriously considering a move to ABQ I can tell you that your city would be many times more exciting a prospect (and I AM already excited about it), if there was a serious discussion taking place about building a light rail network there, instead of an impasse about speeding up an existing bus route. I don't mean to over simplify the issues, but this is the kind of thing potential future residents like myself would love to see.
Light rail has been discussed at length here as well as by city... Here are the threads:
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ART now Electric?!
