“Bus Rapid Transit is our chance to get ahead of the curve. It’s like a light rail at a 200th of the cost, or a subway at a 2000th of the cost, and it is adapted to our culture and our resources.” Gary Oppedahl, Director, Economic Development Department, City of Albuquerque.
This month the City of Albuquerque announced plans to break ground on ART, Albuquerque’s new rapid transit system. The announcement came after news that ART received recommendation of a Federal Transit Administration Small Starts Capital Grant and is included in President Obama’s budget proposal to congress this year. Once approved through the congressional budget process, the grant—along with money set aside by the City—covers more than $100 million for the ART project and another approximately $19 million for other improvements along Central.
ART is envisioned as a system of express vehicles that run in their own dedicated lanes along the Central Avenue corridor. This transit line would interconnect some of our city’s most trafficked areas (UNM, Presbyterian, and Downtown are just some of the sites) and establish more efficient links between residential, business, and underdeveloped areas. In addition to increased efficiency, a Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) economic impact study for ART—which was funded in large part by Living Cities and the local Albuquerque Living Cities Integration Initiative effort—found that a bus rapid transit line would save Albuquerque riders between eight and sixteen percent of their income and result in almost three billion dollars of economic impact from private sector investment and development. While three billion dollars might sound like a lot, cities with similar bus rapid transit projects like Cleveland and Fort Collins have seen upwards of five billion dollars in economic development post-completion. The return on investment is staggering.
The way ART is designed could make it the first gold standard BRT line in the nation. According to Michael Riordan, the Chief Executive Officer at City of Albuquerque, “Primarily that is because there are so many activities along the route and also many locations that have the potential to be further developed.” Michael mentioned there are a whopping 64 acres of vacant land along Central Avenue that could be developed into housing, retail and office spaces for a growing workforce in Albuquerque. The project plans to break ground in May this year and is slated for completion in fall of 2017.
CONNECT THE DOTS
COMMONALITIES with the Albuquerque Integration Initiative: The Center for Neighborhood Technology’s economic impact study was funded in large part by Living Cities as part of their investment in Albuquerque.
OPPORTUNITY: ART interconnects public and private investment, creating opportunities for economic development across sectors.
