What's going on, Albuquerque?

Morning Fix: Contrology

Tax Rebate Proposal Details: $120 per taxpayer, $48 per dependent, nada for households earning more than $80K annually.
Foreclosures not too severe in N.M.
Netflix is running behind, delaying our "27 Dresses."
The latest from Eclipse Aviation, a plan to achieve "operational excellence."
Remember the ABQ Streetcar Fail? The Jones are moving forward.
Pilates new regiment for UNM football. Plus, another bowl invite expected.

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Comment by Dan Ehrig on August 15, 2008 at 8:03am: I am just so shocked to see that its people in the far NE heights who are against public transportation. Shocked I say.

Shocked.

Comment by bluejays47 on August 15, 2008 at 8:17am: As long as "bowl invite" ≠ "New Mexico Bowl"...

Comment by Ryan Martin Stark on August 15, 2008 at 10:08am: Gotta agree, bluejays. It's like organizing your own surprise birthday party, then pretending to be surprised...

Comment by Kevin Murray on August 15, 2008 at 10:20am: Dan,

I am not against public transportation, but I would like to see some of that spent in my area too. Right now, I can not take the bus (or any public transportation for that matter) from my house (which is right near I-25 & Alameda) to my office, which is off I-25 between Comanche & Candelaria. Also throw into the mix that I am a CNM student, and it just gets worse. The old saying "You cant get there from here" is so true for me.

Right now I feel that the Central Ave corridor is over served between the normal 66 bus and two rapid ride routes. That route does not need another option when the rest of the city is really under served. Granted, I know that if we get any version of a light rail line and/or modern streetcar it needs to start at the airport and go downtown via UNM (at least to start), but I think their current plans just suck.

Also, who ever thought it was a good idea to route 75% of the city bus routes downtown via the Alvarado Transportation Center needs to get their head looked at. I really could go on for hours and bitch about our bus system, but I think I have said enough for now.

Comment by once banned twice shy on August 15, 2008 at 10:58am: I agree with Kevin. I think the parts of this town which need public transportation DESPERATELY are the far norhteast, southwest and east. Central has quite enough.

Kevin, very soon you will be able to take the bike path along the north diversion channel from your house to your office. And to CNM. It will be really, really sweet and you'll go a whoel hell of a lot faster than in your car!

Comment by once banned twice shy on August 15, 2008 at 10:58am: Damn it. I meant "a WHOLE hell..."

Comment by Kevin Murray on August 15, 2008 at 11:14am: once banned twice shy,

I know, I have been waiting for them to finish that project up. Even if I do not use it to get to work, it would be a good ride in general.

Comment by shotsie on August 15, 2008 at 1:13pm: About that bus service in the NE - yeah, it'd be nice if they would extend the hours a bit, or maybe add routes to the Jefferson corridor on the weekends (movies/restaurants). - We went to see Keb Mo' at the Civic Plaza on a Saturday, and the transit dept was encouraging people to use the bus to come downtown - great - you could ride a bus downtown, as long as it was before 5pm (Sat), but the only bus line back was the Rapid Ride on Central, with no connecting busses travelling north. I guess they really wanted us to get a hotel room and take the bus back in the morning.....

If you take a look at the streetcar proposal, you'd notice that the 1/4 cent tax for all transportation is used to repay the cost of the streetcar for the next 20 years, not the increased revenue from a special tax district along the Central corridor. If the city would extend the streetcar to the Fairgrounds (and down Louisiana to the Malls), and work with the state to help rebuild the fairgrounds instead of a civic center downtown, I wouldn't mind so much - at least it would be useful for ABQ residents plus visitors.

Comment by John on August 15, 2008 at 4:04pm: Damn straight, Kevin. It just blows my mind to hear discussion about businesses and people on Central getting Yet Another taxpayer-funded perk while the rest of the city is left to rot. If they want to excite people about better public transit, then tell us it's going to be anywhere else. Central is the one place in all these countless square miles, which doesn't need it.

Comment by Kevin Murray on August 15, 2008 at 4:45pm: NMGolfHacker,

I too like my car, and do not plan to get rid of it anytime soon, but if I could get to school / work on the bus it would make much more sense. With gas well above 3.00 a gallon, a monthly pass for the bus at something like 28 dollars makes more sense.Also, I am lucky in that I have access to our company vehicles should I need to run out and get something in the middle of the day. But with no easy bus service, I am forced to use my car.

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