Santa Fe Trail-Building Projects Lurch Forward

Drilling equipment setting the bracing for the new underpass

Work on the Acequia Trail Underpass began in earnest this weekend. Equipment has been hauled to the site and orange barrels are in place for the start of weekday traffic. This is a major piece of our new urban trail/pedestrian/cycling infrastructure which will surely incite cries of commuter agony for the next six months followed by decades of value, appreciation, and laudatory expressions of foresight and vision from future generations of Santa Feans.

This project and other have been held up all year due to City budget deliberations despite segregated allocation of funds between park and trail bond receipts and the city's general fund. Don't get me going on this topic, point being the new work is rolling now since a lot of the scheduled projects have completed the required planning and public input stages, committee approval, bidding, etc.

Vital Consulting Group, Inc. begins mobilizing for the project. Work starts Sept. 25, 2016 and is expected to last through spring 2017. pic.twitter.com/px0vfcO2sj

— AcequiaUnderpass (@AcequiaUnderpas) September 22, 2016

Santa Fe Conservation Trust volunteers at work on the new footbridge
at Camino de las Animas

Smaller less visible projects that have been completed in the meantime include a new extension of the Acequia Trail at Harrison Rd and La Cieneguita St;  A new footbridge over the ditch at Camino de las Animas (useful connector east onto Agua Fria and Canyon Rds; old bridge was all peligroso); Engineering and trail work on the unofficial north/south footpath in the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve; and the new work on the far east end of the River Trail - replacing and installing sidewalk along Alameda up to Patrick Smith Park.

The new footpath extension at Santa Fe Canyon Preserve.
Not yet officially completed or opened to public use.

There has also been several additions of bike lanes on city and county roads including Old Santa Fe Trail south of St. John's College through to El Gancho Way; New lanes on Siringo Dr. from St Francis Dr. to Llano St.

Major projects and additions anticipated for 2017 include the Pen Rd section of the Rail Trail (thru to Alta Vista), and the 15mi El Camino Real Trail along Buckman Rd from the Rio Grande to Caja del Rio Rd west of town. This second project is being managed by BLM and the National Park Service thankfully, removed from dependence on the City and it's various governing committees.

New bike lane off Old Las
Vegas Highway

The Harrison Rd connector
near Rufina; Acequia Trail

Related Posts:
 - Acequia Trail Underpass Groundbreaking/Announcement (Aug '16)
 - Acequia Trail Underpass GreenLit (Aug '15)
 - Arroyo Chamisos Underpass (2012)

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)

Delays in Pending Santa Fe Trail Projects

Several Santa Fe city trail projects that appeared to have been slated for work prior to year-end 2015 have yet to move forward. There's sadness and disappointment each time I'm running errands on the bike scanning for the expected orange barrels and flags. These things are complex but with planning complete and funding in-hand the recent delays are difficult to explain. Pending projects include the Acequia Trail Underpass, the Pen Road connector, Dale Ball connector at the SF Canyon Preserve, various signage, etc.

My working theory on the stalled work is that the city's current financial problems are creating a freeze, and this affects the planned projects even though funds for trail construction source from bond money rather than city operating funds and shouldn't be affected by the coming budget cuts. The full reason is likely some combination of staffing uncertainty and a defensive political posture from the Council who would ultimately approve the ground-breaking on these projects.

A review of the Jan. minutes from the Bicycles and Trails Advisory Committee (BTAC) shows little if any discussion on the anticipated projects and no indication of construction planning. The next BTAC meeting is tomorrow evening (Wed 2/17), 530pm at City Hall. Should you ever have the itch to show up and discuss a trail topic know that public comments are welcome and are generally the third item on the evening's agenda after roll-call and approval of minutes.


Related Posts:
 - Acequia Trail Underpass Scheduled this Fall (Sep 2015)
 - Trail Improvement Page
 - Arroyo Chamiso Underpass Nears Completion (Jun 2012)
 - Santa Fe Rail Trail Improvements (Sep 2015)

Acequia Trail Underpass Scheduled this Fall

Artist's rendering of the new underpass. Much larger than the Zia Rd crossing.

The final public meeting for the Acequia Trail Underpass was held last night. Groundbreaking for the project is expected in as soon as 6-8 weeks. Construction of the entire project is expected to take approx. 9 months, with a focus on completing the tunnel and disrupting traffic on St. Francis much quicker than this. Unlike many Santa Fe developments, this is a project that directly benefits those that live here. It bears remembering that the construction of St Francis Drive back in the 60's divided neighborhoods and projects of this sort begin to bind them together once again.

The meeting was an open house that drew the regular crew of cyclists, urban planners, and grumpy neighbors to discuss the project with the designer and city park and trails managers. Part of the project design was completed by local landscape architect Solange Serquis whom entertained my many questions. I was especially fond of her use of trees and rock work to lighten up what has always been a sad and dusty intersection. Unusually, several city councilors were in attendance (Bushee, Lindell, possibly Rivera) though I didn't get a minute to chat. Wasn't certain if they were there to be seen as part of such a large non-motorized infrastructure project or perhaps to get a feel for the public mood of such an undertaking.

Cross section view of traffic overhead, the underpass, and east/west entrances

This major piece of the city's urban trail network has been in planning for at least seven years if not longer. Dozens of public meetings led to this point. Big discussions three years back focused on whether the transportation link should be an overpass or underpass, with many elected officials advocating for a more visible, possibly iconic overpass at the city's busiest intersection. The majority of trail users backed the practicality and ease of use of an underpass (a no-brainer in my opinion). The two valid criticisms of the project at this time were user safety (minimized with several lighting and design elements), and the price tag. Cost estimates were large enough that the underpass was designated a non-priority project in the city's transportation plan with maybe an 8-12 year time horizon. This was until a $3.8m federal grant came through last fall and suddenly the largest and most visible non-motorized transportation project in the city's plans was green-lit. The incoming federal dollars equate to $7 in matching funds for each $1 of invested city funding for this project. Or when compared with the $15m in city voter approved trail bonds since 2008, this sum equals a direct return on public trails infrastructure investment of 25%. This is a straight up coup, and whomever wrote up that grant application deserves free drinks and several million hi-fives.

The overview drawings. Railyard Park at right. 

Well then, exciting times and lots to think about. Will the project be complete for next year's May Bike-and-Brew event? Unlikely I suppose. Will complaints from the pending construction traffic be loud and bellicose? Undoubtedly, but this would surely be the case for any road construction anywhere in town for any reason. In return for a few months of traffic cones the planned improvements will be of use for generations of Santa Feans. Will this project lead to more private investment and revitalization in nearby neighborhoods and/or along the nearby St. Francis and Cerrillos corridors? I'd assume yes. How soon until an underpass is feasible along the Santa Fe River Trail at Alameda? I'd guess it's a ways out unless another generous federal grant were to come along to grease the skids.

Update: Trail project delays run into Spring of '16

Related Posts:
 - Acequia Trail Underpass Funding (2014)
 - Arroyo Chamiso Underpass (2012)
 - Area Trail Improvements Page
 - Improvements to the Santa Fe Urban Trail System (2012)



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Acequia Trail Underpass - Queued Up

Last week's Santa Fe Reporter was the bike issue. Terrific read. Everything bikes and trails and bike shops. Lotta great stuff including a piece about the west section of the Railyard and its old derelict caboose, (a personal favorite of mine). Embedded in the article was mention of $3.8 million in Federal transportation funding that very recently became available for construction of the often discussed Acequia Trail Underpass connecting the Railyard to the Baca Street District.

This was the first I'd seen or heard of this new money. After a quick search I found a Julie Ann Grimm piece, also in the Reporter, confirming the new funding. It means that ground breaking on the new underpass/trail connector is a go, possibly in the spring or summer of next year. Planning and designs for the project have long been in place and the public comment process was completed this spring (underpass preferred to overpass). The remaining hold-up was funding, or rather, a priority mis-match in spending this great sum for the benefit of a critical yet relatively low-demand section of the trail network. The city will need to come up with $500,000 to cover remaining project costs, and this funding happens to be immediately available due to a June City Council decision to defer construction on the Alameda Underpass (Santa Fe River Trail) and instead re-allocate the $1.9 million in bond funds for that project across several smaller projects.

Coincidentally, one recipient project of the re-allocated funding will be the western-most terminus of the Acequia Trail, the connector that will feed into the Santa Fe River Trail from South Meadows Rd to ~San Felipe Rd and Agua Fria. This portion of the River Trail is an orphan section built-out last year with available federal funds targeted for The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. This western end of the River Trail falls within the National Parks Service alignment of the historic Camino Real, and the federal dollars became available before the County could work on the surrounding parts of the trail network. An additional recipient project of the new funding will be the planned spur from the Camino Real section to the soccer fields at the Municipal Rec Complex along Caja del Rio Rd. The tunnel under NM 599 is already there, built along with the road. I've been through it but it's literally choked under several feet of tumble weeds. I imagine this new money will be used to clear out the weeds and chamisas along the trail itself, and add a few signs so you know where the hell you're at and where you're going.

Conceptual designs of the new underpass - from above and at path level.

Related Posts:

 - Multi Use Trails Update (2014)
 - Arroyo Chamiso Underpass (2012)

 - Trail Work - Arroyo Chamiso Trail (2014)

 - The Santa Fe Urban Trails System

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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)

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Street Art and the Painted Desert Project

High Desert Babe wheels past Thomas' Love Train mural - July 2011

The east end of Santa Fe's Railyard Park has a big 'ol red caboose parked there near St Francis Drive northbound. It's been there for as long as I can remember. Someday soon there'll be a cool new underpass constructed right there that will neatly tie the Railyard/Guadalupe Districts to the Hickox/St Anne/Baca St Districts of town along the new Acequia Trail.

That Railyard caboose has just sat there overlooking things from its well-trafficked perch through the last several decades. She can generally look pretty worn down, especially when aspiring young artists markup the red car-walls with tags and immature scribbles. In the fall of 2010 however, the caboose looked glorious. Artist Chip Thomas (aka Jetsonorama) was commissioned to put up a wheat paste mural of playing children, and the transformation of old railway relic to contemporary art chic was jarring. I loved to ride by there and marvel at how glue paper and ink could have such a bold effect on that forever-dusty corner setting.

Pool Diver

The paper and images have worn away since then with sun exposure and the rotation of seasons. The Pool Diver on the north-facing side remains but the piece has poor visibility from trail or road. I often wonder if the caboose will be re-done and made new again! Better yet, what other number of scribbled walls and faded surfaces around town or beside the trails could be costumed with new meaning and fresh outlook?

All this imaginating and curiosity got me reading about the artist, Chip Thomas - and whoa - could not have envisioned what an impossibly badass guy this dude is. Grew up in New York, heavily influenced by the nascent hip-hop and graffiti scene (now more developed and categorized as street art). He now works as a practicing physician with Indian Health Services on the Navajo Nation and in his spare time dreams up and  pastes these transfixing images that mirror the people and lands themselves. An extended body of work that he and visiting artists and his pasting team (calling themselves No Reservations Required) pulled together in 2012 they call the Painted Desert Project. The images themselves are ordinary, but their size and setting somehow become extraordinary when viewing. I love what this guy does.

All work by Chip Thomas
More images at the artist's site, speakingloudandsayingnothing.blogspot.com

John Begishie

King Fowler

Laughing Woman

Open Hand

Standing Sheep

Watching Tank

Ben

Related Posts:
 - Shepard Fairey's Newest Artwork
 - New York's Incredible High Line Park
 - Not Seen on Treadmills - Shepard Fairey Edition

Improvements to the Santa Fe Urban Trails System

The start (or ending point) of the Santa Fe Rail Trail at the Railyard Plaza

Santa Fe voters recently approved a second parks-and-trails bond measure to fund continued improvements to the city's growing urban trails system.

The system includes three main east-west alignments - the Santa Fe River Trail, the Acequia Trail, and the Arroyo Chamiso Trail - and the north-south alignment of the Santa Fe Rail Trail which intersects the other three.

The three east-west corridors will remain in progress for several years with planned extensions all the way out to NM 599 with connections north to the city soccer field complex in the Caja del Rio, and south to NM 14.

Trail descriptions and maps of these trail corridors are as follows:
      - Arroyo Chamisos Trail
      - Santa Fe Rail Trail
      - Santa Fe River Trail
      - The Acequia Trail, and

The new system is in addition to the area's hiking and biking recreation trails which include the Dale Ball Trails, the Winsor Trail System, La Tierra Trails, Arroyo Hondo, and the Galisteo Basin.

A total of $6 million from the most recent bond sale will be allocated for priority urban trail projects over the next few years. This new capital follows an initial $9 million in funding approved by voters in 2008, both specifically allocated to city trails and road-sharing projects.

Arroyo Chamisos Trail

Funds were used to acquire the necessary easements and build out trail extensions for the Santa Fe River Trail and the new Acequia Trail west of St Francis Dr, as well as extend the Arroyo Chamisos Trail west to the Santa Fe Place Mall (via a new underpass at Rodeo Rd), and now east with access to the Gail Ryba Trail and Christus St. Vincent Hospital (via an underpass at St Francis Dr). The 2008 investment was nicely complemented by state and federal funding for the Santa Fe Rail Trail in conjunction with the construction of the New Mexico Rail Runner Commuter Train.

Santa Fe County Rail Trail

The end result of this flurry of planning and investment is a new framework of paved multi-use trails within city limits. Beginning with the first few miles of the Arroyo Chamisos Trail in 1997, the system now includes four main trails anchored by the 17mi Rail Trail which connects them all. Really, really good stuff.

The Santa Fe Metropolitan Planning Organization (SFMPO) has mapped out priority lists for planned trail extensions, improvements, and bike-share corridors which include shoulder widening along some streets and lane striping. Of the new $6 million in funding, priority trail work will include the following:

1. $2M for a planned underpass of the Santa Fe River Trail at Alameda and St Francis Drive. This is a key link along the River Trail that's really going to tie together the stretch of new trail to the west of St Francis (extending to Frenchy's Field at Osage and Agua Fria), to the older section that passes through downtown up as far as Delgado St. Updated Here: 

The Santa Fe Acequia Trail

2. Completion of sections of the Rail Trail between St Francis Dr. and Alta Vista, along Pen Rd. and along the South Capitol Rail Runner Station.

3. Extensions and improvements to the Acequia Trail which now stretches behind the New Mexico School for the Deaf (west of the Santa Fe Railyard) to Baca Rd and a trailhead island at Ashbaugh Park that currently goes nowhere. Planned improvements will extend the trail through Ashbaugh Park and Osage Ave. to Harrison Rd near the county boundary.

4. Extension of the Gail Ryba Trail along St Francis Dr (which will soon be connected to the Rail Trail and Arroyo Chamisos Trail via underpass), east to Botulph Rd and East Zia Rd.

5. Construction of another mile extension to the W. Arroyo Chamiso trail section as it slowly edges its way toward Cerrillos Rd and an eventual linkup with the larger E. Arroyo Chamisos Trail section.

The Santa Fe Rail Trail

6. Construction of a new multi-use trail along the Arroyo en Medio/Arroyo Chapparal in south Santa Fe, connecting Ragle Park to the New Mexico Rail Runner station at Zia Rd, as-well-as to the intersection of the Rail Trail, Arroyo Chamisos Trail, and Gail Ryba Trails. I don't know whether to be happy or sad about this one since the dirt footpath that runs through this open space now is where I begin most of my runs. I'll be just another victim of progress it seems, albeit super-rad progress.

7. Construction of the proposed Sarah Williams Trail along the Canada Ancha and lower Hyde Park Rd, connecting the Dale Ball Trails at Sierra del Norte to Gonzales Rd, and a eventual connection to the planned (now completed) Gonzales Rd Pedestrian Trail stretching down to Alameda St. and the Santa Fe River Trail.

8. Additional and improved bike lane striping on city streets, including the widening of shoulders in some locations. If you do a lot of commuting and getting around by bike - like myself and a growing group of other bikeys around town - this is important work that will get its fair share of use. 
9. 
   

 - Further details of the bond funded trail improvements can be found at the Trail Improvements Tab (above).
 - Additional info here at the City of Santa Fe website
 - A bit about the new St. Francis underpass and Gail Ryba Trail extension from  the Santa Fe New Mexican.
 - A bit about the new connector trail to Museum Hill and the Santa Fe Botanical Gardens from the Santa Fe New Mexican (left).



Related Posts:
 - Multi Use Trails Update (2014)
 - Arroyo Chamiso Underpass
 - Acequia Trail Underpass




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