Plan for "Great Streets": Available for review and comment
Claude Morelli
News and Information from WALK Albuquerque
Final draft of “Great Streets Facility Plan” now available
The following information was derived from material downloaded from the City of Albuquerque’s web site or provided by Manjeet Tangri of the City of Albuquerque’s Planning Department.
What are Great Streets? “Great Streets” are memorable streets. They are streets that create a desire to visit the street again and again. They are visually attractive and comfortable. They are safe places to walk, to shop, to ride a bicycle, or to catch a bus. They have small shops, interesting activities, well-designed buildings, and well-placed seating and trees that generate human activity and vitality. And, they connect places where people live to places where they work, shop, go to school, or recreate in a clear and appealing manner.
Background on Great Streets Facility Plan: In 2006, the Albuquerque Planning Department initiated a project to develop a “Great Streets Facility Plan”. The intent of this plan is to help implement the goals and policies of the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan and the Planned Growth Strategy. The Comprehensive Plan responds to a commitment in the City Charter to “promote and maintain an aesthetic and human urban environment.” The Great Streets Plan addresses the Comprehensive Plan’s Activity Centers and Corridors policies in detail. Its purpose is to demonstrate how to make city streets more safe, attractive, and compatible with the needs and concerns of all street users (including pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transit riders).
Final draft of the plan is now available: In December of 2007, a preliminary draft of the plan was presented at public meeting held in the Nob Hill area. Subsequent to that meeting, city staff and its consultants revised the plan based on input received. A Final Draft is now available.
Plan to be heard by EPC in March 2008: The Plan will be introduced to the Environmental Planning Commission (EPC) at a Study Session to be held today (February 14) and will be heard by the EPC at a hearing scheduled for March 13 (time to be determined). Please mark your calendars and plan to attend the meeting on March 13 if you wish to comment on this plan. EPC meetings are typically held in the basement hearing room of the Plaza del Sol Building, located at the northeast corner of Second & Roma in downtown Albuquerque.
For more information (or to obtain a copy of the plan): The Final Draft of the Great Streets Facility Plan will be placed on the Planning Department’s web site by Friday, 15 February 2008. Please visit www.cabq.gov/planning/publications for more information. Or, contact Manjeet K. Tangri at mta...@cabq.gov (phone: 924-3356).