Albuquerque — Streetcar Plan
Rail Transit Online, March 2006
City officials are ramping up planning for a modern streetcar system that
would start with a four-mile (6.4 km), $120-million downtown corridor along
Central Avenue linking Old Town and Nob Hill. Championing the plan is Mayor
Martin Chávez who is lobbying the state legislature to provide about half
the funding. “Eventually, we will seek federal participation,” Greg Payne,
director of the city's Transit Department, told the Albuquerque Journal.
“But, for the initial phase, we've decided that, in order to put this
project on the fast track, we will seek a combination of state and local
funding.” Payne added that, given the increasing competition for federal
financing of rail transit schemes, there is no guarantee that Albuquerque
would even qualify for a grant. Current monthly bus ridership on Central is
over 286,000 and growing, which transit officials believe is the threshold
for a rail system. A draft environmental impact statement is scheduled to
be completed soon and Chavez says he hopes to have the line ready in about
three years. |
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