Acequia Trail Underpass GroundBreaking

After many months of delays the groundbreaking for the new bike and pedestrian tunnel linking the Railyard to the west Acequia Trail is set for this Wednesday, Aug 17th (Turns out it was a groundbreaking in name only - instead it was a formal announcement of groundbreaking planned for mid-September!). Construction is expected to take 6 months from beginning to end though some of this will be prep and landscape work rather than road closures.

Approximately 85% of the funding for this project source from a Federal Non-Motorized Transportation grant, the remainder from 2012 City Parks and Trails bonds. This won't keep un-informed and uninterested folks all over town from complaining about prioritizing spending. The project also spent many many years in planning, committees, and public meetings but this won't keep the same people from belly-aching about design or the need for an overpass or unrelated hang-ups, etcetera, etc., ad infinitum. Bottom line is that all of this new and sorely needed infrastructure is going to change the town for the better, tying together adjacent neighborhoods, increasing land values and incentivizing private investment, and increasing foot traffic for local businesses.

Acequia Trail Tunnel - Schematic drawings

A related project that will likely arrive on the heels of the new underpass is the re-work of the Rail Trail segment along Pen Rd and the Rail Runner Station between Cordova and Alta Vista. Trees will be added as will improved road crossings and safety medians. Planning is complete and funding has been allocated from previous bond sales. This whole area will be spruced up and looking fine.

Groundbreaking Celebration: Wednesday Aug 17th, 4pm

Related Posts:
 - Delays in Pending Trail Projects (2016)
 - Acequia Trail Underpass Scheduled for this Fall (2015)
 - Arroyo Chamisos Underpass Nears Completion (2012)

What It's Like to be a Parent - With Helpful Comparison to New Orleans Party

Important Dad skill: Crossing creeks with both coffee and kid

I traveled down to New Orleans recently for some wedding festivities. The friends and I brought the ruckus, rolling the celebrations out late over two nights, even high-stepping our own cocktail fueled street parade through the French Quarter complete with marching band and police escort. We went big even by our own historical standards, by accountants' standards we would have been off the charts. Straight up partied our asses off, committed fully to the task at hand. Flawless execution. The 7,000+ ft drop in altitude for myself only provided an even larger tank of fuel then normal to burn through.
Now, on my return home, not even one full week later I’m out on an evening mtb ride with a friend (also an accountant I should add). It is hot as holy hell. No wind or breeze to speak of, I’m literally thanking my good judgment for filling two water bottles before heading out of the house (usually take just one). I’m sweating sheets during the ride and this requires me to stop on several occasions to clear my eyes because I’m blinded. We are not even in the hills - no climbing, just zipping around Galisteo and pedaling madly up/down the southern stretches of the Rail Trail in Eldorado. We grab a beer after the ride and I’m definitely more filthy than average because I'm annoyingly conscious that my entire upper body is coated in a film of sweat and dust and I feel it when I move, minor actions like talking and smiling and swiveling my head. Thirty minutes later I pull into the house just in time for the 3yr old's bedtime so I walk in the door and directly into his room where I sit with him until he’s asleep. We both fall asleep of course - me in the rocking chair, layered in sweat and dust baked in by sun, he in his nearly outgrown toddler's bed. I was at the office all day and was spent. I wake up super early a.m. and on autopilot drag my broken old-man body out of that freaking chair and sleepwalk straight into the shower because I literally feel several degrees worse at this moment than I did on either of the late unsteady mornings in New Orleans the week before.
I feel that this story very elegantly illustrates what it’s like to be a parent and I wanted to share my pain with other people. Being a parent is super-fun though there's lots of discomfort and confusion and small humiliations of unusually high frequency and the occasional absence of beds or any type of necessary self-planning.
P.S. New Orleans is a riot and you should go there.
Related Posts:
- Adventure on the Winsor Trail (Sep 2014)
- Greatest Dad Wins (Apr 2015)
 - Fat  Man (Apr 2015)