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Plans to improve the quality of public transportation near the University area may include designating one lane each way on Central Avenue as bus-only lanes.
City of Albuquerque Transit Department Director Bruce Rizzieri said the city is considering the implementation of a bus rapid transit along Central Avenue in order to improve public transportation. *The plan will convert the two middle lanes of the street into bus-only lanes, and will allot only one lane for personal vehicle traffic in each direction.
The plan may provide 60-foot rubber-wheeled buses, which are almost identical to the buses currently used by the Rapid Ride system, to run in both directions without dealing with car and pedestrian traffic.
“A bus rapid transit is a kind of transit which has a lot of flexibility,” Rizzieri said. “It can operate along traffic, on dedicated lanes, or it can operate in a combination of dedicated lanes and general purpose lanes.”
Rizzieri said about 45 percent of all passengers who use ABQ RIDE board a bus on Central Avenue. He said since the Rapid Ride systems were put in place, ridership increased from 9 million to 13 million people per year and that the number continues to increase, contrary to the city’s expectations.**
“When the Rapid Ride system started in roughly 2005, concerns were that riders of the (Route) 66 would move to the Rapid Ride system, and ridership would stay the same but just put into two routes,” he said. “That didn’t happen. Ridership went up within the quarter, which is very good.”
Rizzieri said the city is studying the entire length of Central Avenue, which runs east from Tramway Boulevard to Paseo del Volcan.
Although plans to improve transportation along Central Avenue started during the ‘90s, Rizzieri said the latest ridership study of the street was conducted in 2009.***
Rizzieri said the project will be advantageous, especially to students without cars.
“If this proceeds … the advantage to any transit rider is we can get from one point to another in a timelier manner than you can using the current service, and perhaps even driving your own vehicle,” he said.
But UNM student Leann Garcia said that although she wants public transportation to be more efficient, she does not think decreasing the lanes along Central Avenue is a good idea.
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“I also ride the buses and the Rail Runner, and they’re always late,” she said. “But coming from a driver’s point of view, I think it would cause a lot of traffic, and I will have to wake up earlier to go to school.”
Garcia said it takes her 20 minutes just to drive from the University to I-25 and that the plans to decrease the lanes on Central Avenue are poorly timed, because she lives out of town and has to drive to school every day. She said the plans may not be worth the amount of money it could cost and that it would be easier if students watch bus route movement more closely.
“You could get to your buses early and get to your destinations earlier by using the buses we already have now,” she said.
UNM student Andrew Patterson said that because he does not own a car, installing more buses along Central Avenue will be very helpful. But Patterson said he is skeptical about the feasibility of the plan.
“My opinion is that Albuquerque seriously needs a lot more public transportation,” he said. “But I don’t see how that’s going to happen, considering how congested the city already is and how much people love their cars.”
Patterson said the plan may encourage people to be more environmentally friendly with their vehicles.
“People can get around more easily, and this will maybe encourage people to not drive their cars as much,” he said. “I don’t know why so many people drive along Central anyway. The people of Albuquerque are pretty stubborn drivers.”
Rizzieri said a similar study is being conducted for University Boulevard and that it is possible that a bus rapid transit will be installed along University Boulevard as well.****
“Right now our plan is to have a series of public meetings to present our information and projections for future traffic projections … and current bus situations along Central,” he said.
The first public meeting about the project will be held Nov. 20. Rizzieri said the city hopes to make a decision in 2013 after public reactions about the project are heard.
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*Correction: The City of Albuquerque Transit Department does not yet have a plan for Central Avenue; it is in the process of consulting the public and asking for input in order to formulate a plan. While the department is considering the possible conversion of a lane in each direction on Central Avenue into bus-only lanes, it does not intend to reduce the number of lanes for personal vehicle traffic to only one lane in each direction.
**These numbers represent an increase in ridership on all bus lines, not just the Rapid Ride systems.
***This article originally read: He said the city tried to put a plan to improve transportation on Central Avenue into place but could not afford to do so. “The city had several plans and designs we looked at,” he said. “But we decided not to proceed for cost and other reasons.”
****The article originally read: But he said the city has not decided whether to push this plan through and that a budget estimate has not yet been determined for the project._
