Type: Corridor Plan
Size: 3 miles
Status: Underway
In 2010, Dover Kohl & Partners completed the Rio Grande Master Plan. Located on the northwest side of Albuquerque, Rio Grande Boulevard is the main north-south corridor connecting the Old Town neighborhood with the neighborhoods of the Upper Valley. At present, the Boulevard functions as a suburban arterial roadway capable of moving high volumes of motor vehicles. The Plan calls for preserving and building upon the most positive attributes found within the corridor but also calls for enhancing the quality of future development by closely coordinating land use, form, and transportation planning and design decisions.
The 2010 Plan uses four general character areas (scenic, residential, village, town) to link a range of proposed street design dimensions to land use/ built form. This includes the recommendation of a road diet along much of the corridor. While the Plan’s character designations do provide for the allocation of space for the various modes, a more detailed analysis was required to determine the future design and implementation of appropriate bicycle facilities for each of the character areas.
In 2012 Street Plans was retained by the City of Albuqueque to provide additional bicycle planning and design services for the Rio Grande corridor. The Street Plans recommendations detail how a variety of bikeway design treatments may be used within each of the designated character areas. This includes the bicycle facility as well as signing, signalization, and intersection design details that enhance cycling without compromising the overall quality of the public realm. The proposed treatments focus on assisting bicyclists move not just along the corridor, but also across it, as two popular bike paths bookend the corridor.
