Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Katys on April 17, 2012 at 11:10pm

The alley way between Gold and Silver from 1st to about 8th seems to be one of those places foreboding to those who walk as are probably many of the east/west alley ways of downtown.

There are paths close to the river banks in the bosque too that seem to to repel some.

Walking in general is not popular in this car-centric culture of ours. I have not walked the kinds of tunnels pictured at the Flicker site. Those images made me hesitant to respond to this post.

Since walking is a topic that I am thinking about a lot these days I went ahead and responded. 

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Permalink Reply by B Wilder on April 18, 2012 at 2:37pm

Thanks for your response.  The class is on the Archaeology of Walking, and it's been very interesting.  Our group is exploring some of the social aspects of walking that weren't talked about as much in the class - where you're allowed to walk, how you know where you shouldn't walk, the boundaries of freedom to walk.. stuff like that.   

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Permalink Reply by Adam Sullins on April 18, 2012 at 10:07am

Try the north-south alleyway between 2nd and 3rd streets, heading south from Cromwell SW. Its pretty scary.

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Permalink Reply by B Wilder on April 18, 2012 at 2:39pm

Thanks, but I think we've got alleys covered.  I was hoping to find out about access to the diversion channel tunnels or other less known paths. 

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Permalink Reply by Bluegoo on April 18, 2012 at 4:09pm

You will not find  any online maps of  diversion channel tunnels  There are very good reasons for that. Yes i know it does not rain much but when it does you have a flash flood danger in the tunnels  as in if you get caught inside when it starts raining you could get hurt or worse  by fast moving water. Some are as long as 300 yards. Some are so big you could drive a car in them. On the how you can  walk down the side of the arroyo near the ramps or sides  that go into the arroyos than inside.  As for will you get in trouble for being in them ? You have to be seen first and than maybe you might.

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Permalink Reply by killbox on April 19, 2012 at 10:48pm

Years a go I posted an article about exploring the UNM steam tunnels in my teenage years.  they still exist, but access is very locked down...

http://abq-urbex.livejournal.com/18171.html

if you follow that livejournal community or my older URBEX photos, you can find some tunnels and other places. i do geotag pretty often on flickr too to perhaps help your paper.

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Permalink Reply by B Wilder on April 20, 2012 at 9:40am

Awesome!  mucho thanks

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Permalink Reply by LaGuera on April 20, 2012 at 10:04am

It is very dangerous to go into the drainage tunnels--for example, the ones that are near Albuquerque High School--because the water that flows through them is pumped up from the Broadway pump station to the North Diversion Channel. This water then is channeled to the river. No one will know when the pumps engage. No one can know how much water, volume-wise, at any time will flow through the tunnels. I would advise against going in there.

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Permalink Reply by B Wilder on April 21, 2012 at 5:03pm

Noted.  Thanks all for your concern.  We'll be careful.

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Permalink Reply by once banned twice shy on April 23, 2012 at 2:46pm

Um...basically everyone is telling you to NOT go in the diversion channel tunnels. Not to look out when you're in there, but NOT to go. Also, your original criteria specify places that are accessible for pedestrians.  The tunnels in the diversion channels are NOT accessible to pedestrians.  As evidenced by your not knowing how to get in them.

I figure that the diversion channels are Albq.'s own little Darwinian filtration device.  As in if you are stupid enough to cruise around in them and get washed away, the gene pool only benefits.

But some tunnels that I think are accessible, yet not used widely, are the tunnels under Juan Tabo and Eubank on the multi-use path which runs along I-40 from Wyoming to Tramway.  They are kind of creepy and often homeless people camp out in them--or there is evidence that they do.

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Permalink Reply by Leanne Yanabu on April 21, 2012 at 5:52pm

You might like to see this Slate.com special, "The Crisis in American Walking": http://www.slate.com/articles/life/walking/2012/04/why_don_t_americ...

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Permalink Reply by Albuquerque Public Art Program on April 23, 2012 at 1:38pm

Although it's not "forbidden", there is a pretty unknown tunnel under the Convention Center that connects it with the parking structure under Civic Plaza. It is filled with really cool neon public art! The piece is called "Celebrating Nature/the Landscape Underground by artist Barbara Grothus.

Go down the escalators, back around to the right, follow a long hallway and then through a set of doors. The underground tunnel of neon leads you out to the parking structure where you can walk up a set of stairs to get to Civic Plaza.

Image below:

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