Thursday, June 30, 2011

Top 10, no, 12 Wish List

A couple guys at skyscrapercity posted their wish lists and it got me thinking. Below is mine in no particular order.

1) Create a loop of elevated light rail (Central, Coors, Paseo(?), Louisiana/Wyoming???), with a cut and cover subway along Central from Rio Grande to San Mateo. This would allow for the complete rehab of Central in that corridor.

2) A regional scale park (probably not quite like Zilker but more akin to Millenium in Chicago but smaller, and extends to the north along 1st a-la Old Montreal's waterfront park) on the north side of the Rail Yards where one can take in the Sandias, the Railyards, and downtown skycrapers, while reading a book in a lawn.

3) A streetcar running in a loop on 2nd and 3rd between Cesar Chavez and I-40. Also, a line between UNM and the airport along Yale to connect with the loop.

4) An upzoned warehouse district for mid and highrise housing and commercial, which extends the downtown core to the north.

5) Upgrade the Bosque trail to include wider pathways, places for seating, and lighting...at least in the busiest portions

6) Desertpunks Comp Plan idea is spot on. We need to designate and upzone nodes for density (a REAL centers and corridors plan) and compliments the transit system.

7) The fairgrounds I'd like to see turned into an urban village that supports housing, commercial, and an MLS soccer stadium/complex that compliments a downsized fairgrounds area. All parking could be structured and underground.

8) A symphony hall downtown...or the fairgrounds if you must, but only if 9...

9) A downtown arena and 35+ story hotel tower all crammed into downtown proper...none of this sprawling-into-edo mess

10) Bus service extended to late night to compliment the mass transit loop

11) New, attractive, modern central library...hold an international design competition so you know who doesn't horde that project as well...

12) I do like the idea of utilizing the river for recreational purposes. We have an amazing natural environment that compliments the built environment but we need to incorporate it better.

Oh, and bike lanes and paths all around downtown. It's flat and there are trees...perfect for walking/biking!

Cities for People!

What's your wish list? Did you send it to the Mayor?

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Fool Us Twice?


Thanks to a tip from skyscrapercity username swerve3030, we have evidence that Goodman is pulling the good 'ol bait and switch on us. First, Hunt sold us on a mixed-use, multi-story ABQ Uptown. Now, Goodwin's plans for Winrock appear to have withered to a worst case scenario and we've already agreed to help him finance it.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Locals and Tourists #243 (GTWA #763): Albuquerque

Eric Fischer was nice enough to post this on his flickr account after a friendly request. What does this image say about our built environment? How can the urban design of Albuquerque be influenced by this?

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Burque Moon

Burque Moon by rt41959 (Randy)
Burque Moon, a photo by rt41959 (Randy) on Flickr.

Just one example of the excellent photography being shared on the UrbanABQ flickr page.