Santa Fe Multi-Use Trails Update

Santa Fe Rail Trail at the Railyard Plaza

As published in yesterday’s Santa Fe New Mexican, the City Public Works Committee voted to recommend to the City Council that the proposed bike/pedestrian underpass at Alameda and St Francis be shelved in favor of re-allocating the roughly $2 million in bond funds for an assortment of other improvements to the trails system.

All of these various additions are queued up in the current Santa Fe Metro Bicycle Master Plan (yes, some of us do actually read these things). As an avid trail user, old and new, this shift in spending priorities looks to be a very favorable exchange. The following are the projects under current discussion to be funded by the new allocations - UPDATED, with Sept 23 projects officially approved by City Council:

1) $300,000 $100,000 for at grade improvements at Alameda/St Francis (in place of the underpass)

2) Canada Rincon multi-use Trail. connecting the neighborhoods near Zocalo to Calle Mejia (better access to Gonzales Community School) .32miles/ $132,000 $200,000

3) Arroyo En Medio Trail. connecting Gail Ryba Trail at Zia Rd. to Sawmill Rd. .25miles/ $200,000 (access for Capshaw Middle School, Little Earth School and SF Girls' School)

3) Municipal Rec Complex Trail, connector from the Santa Fe River Trail to the
culvert underpass at NM 599. Will ultimately extend to MRC, $150,000

4) Arroyo Mascaras Trail. connecting the Mascaras to west San Francisco St. / $150,000

5) Tierra Contenta Trail (n. Arroyo Chamiso Trl). connecting Buffalo Grass to South Meadows. .38miles/ $300,000 (safe routes to school access for Sweeney, Ortiz and others)

6) Acequia Trail at Otowi Drive .10miles/ $80,000

7) Acequia Trail at S. Meadows/Rufina to SF River Trail(end of Agua Fria) 1.0mile $660,000 $113,800

8) Infrastructure improvements: City way-finding, $30,000 and Safety infrastructure (focusing on dangerous railroad crossings), $10,000

9) Acequia Trail Underpass (with $3.8 million sourced from the Federal Dept of Transportation), $556,200 local matching funds

10) Bike lanes and road widening on Old Santa Fe Trail, from E. Zia to Sun Mtn Rd (in conjunction with new lanes and road widening on the County portion of Old Santa Fe Trail up to El Gancho Way), $200,000

A thank you goes out to Stephen Newhall for relaying these project details. Thanks Stephen!

Update: Take two minutes of your time to fire off an email to your City Councilors (two for each district) and cc: Councilor Bushee (who chairs the city Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee [BTAC]). Let them know you're a trail user, that you vote, and what your stance is on the city's trails network. My email referenced the above along with an emphasis on - MORE TRLS PLZ. 

Related Posts:

 - Acequia Trail Underpass - All Queued Up (2014)
 - The Santa Fe Urban Trails System
 - Arroyo Chamiso Underpass (2012)

 - Trail Work - Arroyo Chamiso Trail (2014)

View Acequia Trail - Santa Fe, NM in a larger map