City of Albuquerque - File #: R-21-182

• File #: R-21-182
• Type: Resolution
• Status: Enacted
• File created: 8/2/2021
• In control: City Council
• Final action: 11/15/2021
• Enactment date: 11/24/2021
• Enactment #: R-2021-080
• Title: F/S Establishing Corridor Improvements For 118th Street From Ladera Drive To Senator Dennis Chavez Boulevard As A Priority For The City Albuquerque Funding Processes, Encouraging The New Mexico Department Of Transportation To Prioritize The Approval And Construction Of An Interchange At Ladera Drive And 118th Street, Forming A Partnership With The County Of Bernalillo To Develop 118th Street (Pe?a)
• Sponsors: Klarissa J. Peña

Date	Action By	Action	Result
11/24/2021	City Clerk	Published
11/22/2021	Mayor	Not Signed by the Mayor
11/18/2021	City Council	Sent to Mayor for Signature
11/15/2021	City Council	Passed as Amended	Pass
11/15/2021	City Council	Amended	Fail
11/15/2021	City Council	Amended	Pass
11/15/2021	City Council	Postponed	Fail
11/3/2021	City Council	Postponed as Substituted	Pass
11/3/2021	City Council	Substituted	Pass
10/4/2021	City Council	Postponed	Pass
9/20/2021	City Council	Accepted with a recommendation Do Pass, As Amended
9/15/2021	Land Use, Planning, and Zoning Committee	Sent to Council with a recommendation of Do Pass, as Amended	Pass
9/15/2021	Land Use, Planning, and Zoning Committee	Amended	Pass
9/15/2021	Land Use, Planning, and Zoning Committee	Amended	Pass
9/15/2021	Land Use, Planning, and Zoning Committee	Amended	Pass
8/11/2021	Land Use, Planning, and Zoning Committee	Postponed	Pass
8/2/2021	City Council	Introduced and Referred
8/2/2021	President	Referred

CITY of ALBUQUERQUE

TWENTY FOURTH COUNCIL

COUNCIL BILL NO.        F/S R-21-182              ENACTMENT NO.   ________________________

SPONSORED BY:                     Klarissa J. Peña

RESOLUTION

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F/S Establishing Corridor Improvements For 118th Street From Ladera Drive To Senator Dennis Chavez Boulevard As A Priority For The City Albuquerque Funding Processes, Encouraging The New Mexico Department Of Transportation To Prioritize The Approval And Construction Of An Interchange At Ladera Drive And 118th Street, Forming A Partnership With The County Of Bernalillo To Develop 118th Street (Peña)

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ESTABLISHING CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS FOR 118^TH STREET FROM LADERA DRIVE TO SENATOR DENNIS CHAVEZ BOULEVARD AS A PRIORITY FOR THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE FUNDING PROCESSES, ENCOURAGING THE NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO PRIORITIZE THE APPROVAL AND CONSTRUCTION OF AN INTERCHANGE AT LADERA DRIVE AND 118^th STREET, FORMING A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COUNTY OF BERNALILLO TO DEVELOP 118^th STREET.

                     WHEREAS, the Mid Region Metropolitan Planning Organization 2040 Long Range Roadway System Map designates 118^th Street from Ladera Drive to Senator Dennis Chavez Boulevard as a Community Principle Arterial; and

                     WHEREAS, Community Principle Arterials, which include roadways such as Eubank Boulevard, Montan͂o Road/Montgomery Boulevard, and San Mateo Boulevard, are the primary commercial and commuter thoroughfares for the City; and

WHEREAS, transportation connections between the places that residents live, work, play and learn is key to enhancing quality of life; and

WHEREAS, Community Principle Arterials in addition to moving large volumes of traffic provide robust access to adjacent land uses are the City’s primary economic corridors for the provision of commercial and government services and siting large employers; and

WHEREAS, over 100,000 residents of Albuquerque reside on the Southwest Mesa. The residents of this area are more likely to live in households with children under 18, are a person of color, speak a primary language other than English, and have an average household income below the median income; and

WHEREAS, policy 6.5.1.a of the City’s Comprehensive Plan supports reducing household transportation costs by improving mobility and choice among modes. Policy 6.5.1.b supports prioritizing transportation investments to underserved and underrepresented neighborhoods to respond to distinct needs within Community Planning Areas. Policy 6.5.1.c supports prioritizing transportation investments in Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas and in areas underserved by private development; and

WHEREAS, the Albuquerque City Council adopted R-20-75, strengthening and reaffirming the City of Albuquerque’s commitment to addressing racial and social inequity and the City is committed to working toward better addressing racial disparities and equity concerns in all capital projects. The strategies necessary to address racial and social equity require intention and action at the policy, process, program and service delivery levels; and

WHEREAS, following the adoption of R-20-75 the City Council adopted R-20-85, creating a community equity criterion to be used in the implementation of the City’s Capital Implementation Program; and

WHEREAS, Albuquerque residents living in the Southwest Mesa who reside within close proximity of 118^th Street do not have the same degree of access to transit stops, hospitals, grocery stores, public open space and other basic services that ensure their quality of life as residents living in other parts of the City; and

WHEREAS, failures in the City’s development approval and zoning processes resulted in the Southwest Mesa being severely deficient in critical community infrastructure including, community centers, fire stations, parks, recreation fields, retail stores, roadways, storm sewers, and street lighting; and

WHEREAS, the residents of the Southwest Mesa must use the Southwest Mesa’s underdeveloped roadway system to travel to other quadrants of the City to reach basic services that are absent in the Southwest Mesa; and

WHEREAS, according to the American Community Survey 2018 data, 82.6% of commuters in the Southwest Mesa drove themselves to work alone, another 12.8% carpooled, 2% worked from home, 1.4% used transit, 0.8% walked, and 0.3% used an alternative means of transport; and

WHEREAS, 118^th and 98^th Streets and Central Avenue are the only designated Community Principle Arterials for the 100,000 residents of the Southwest Mesa and 118^th Street has yet to develop, leaving two Community Principle Arterials for the area. The consequence of this dearth of principle arterials is evident in the lack of commercial services and employment generators in the area and the long commute times endured by area residents to reach such services in other quadrants of the City; and

WHEREAS, the regional complex of medical facilities for the Northwest and Southwest Mesas will be located north of the interchange of Interstate 40 and 118^th Street. Access for residents of the Southwest Mesa to the center will require the development of 118^th Street from Senator Dennis Chavez to Ladera Drive and the construction of an interchange of Interstate 40 with 118^th Street; and

WHEREAS, the residents that live along the one developed section of 118^th Street between Amole Mesa Avenue and Senator Dennis Chavez, travel an out of direction route to reach services north and east of their location causing extensive travel time for the simplest of errands; and

WHEREAS, Atrisco Heritage Academy, which has the third largest enrollment in the region behind only the main campuses of the University of New Mexico and Central New Mexico Community College is located on 118^th Street. Senator Dennis Chavez is the only street that links the neighborhoods of the Southwest Mesa, via 98^th Street and Unser Boulevard to the high school. The development of 118^th Street will allow parents, students and staff another option for their commute to the school; and

WHEREAS, residential subdivision development in the Southwest Mesa, after a 10-year hiatus, is restarting including a new 151-home subdivision along 118^th Street which will increase the number of commuters on 98^th Street and Unser Boulevard. Constructing 118^th Street will help alleviate traffic along these routes; and

WHEREAS, there are insufficient connections onto Interstate 40 from the Southwest Mesa.  Mesa residents use 98^th Street or Unser Boulevard to access Interstate 40, which overloads the interchange with traffic creating long travel time delays due to congestion during the peak morning and evening hours; and

WHEREAS, with the development of the employment center on Atrisco Vista Boulevard an access point along 118^th Street will allow Southwest Mesa residents, who commute to the Atrisco Vista employment center, another option to access homes in the western section of the Southwest Mesa; and

WHEREAS, much of the corridor that will become 118^th Street is within unincorporated Bernalillo County, it is located in undeveloped areas and the primary users of the road will be the residents of the residential subdivisions located several hundred feet east of 118^th Street and that are located within the City Limits; and

WHEREAS, the lands west of 118^th Street are on a slope and will likely not undergo development in the foreseeable future, and to develop the roadway in a reasonable time period will require a public funded project; and

WHEREAS, the County of Bernalillo in 2019 completed a study that establishes a right of way corridor for 118^th Street, and a site plan has been presented to the County Planning Department for a development that would construct 118^th Street from Central Avenue to Sunset Gardens; and

WHEREAS, the County of Bernalillo due to limited access to property tax mill levies to finance capital projects, must utilize federal transportation gas tax funding or other special appropriations to finance the development of roadways and developer dedications; and

WHEREAS, the County of Bernalillo has adopted AR-2021-72 establishing the development of 118^th Street as a priority of County Commission District 2; and

WHEREAS, the County of Bernalillo has expressed a willingness to join with the City to pursue Federal Surface Transportation Planning Urban formula Grants to fund the development of 118^th Street and to develop and provide a 30% engineering study that will identify the location of the right of way, determine the design cross-sections, and provide cost estimates to fully develop the roadway; and

WHEREAS, a significant portion of 118^th Street from Cartegena Avenue to Interstate 40 is in unincorporated County of Bernalillo. The County has stated a willingness to partner with the City to develop the roadway through the adoption of AR-21-72, which establishes the development of 118^th Street and the Interchange at Ladera Drive as a priority of County Commission District 2; and

WHEREAS, the development of 118^th will require cooperation and agreement between the City of Albuquerque and the County of Bernalillo; and

WHEREAS, as made evident in the findings in this Resolution, designating the development of 118^th Street from Ladera Drive to Senator Dennis Chavez is necessary for the orderly development of the Southwest Mesa of Albuquerque and to provide for the residents’ public health, welfare, and safety and appropriately apply the City equity policies; and

WHEREAS, 118^th Street from Interstate 40 to Arroyo Vista Boulevard

is the central access to a regional activity center that will include a regional hospital, regional retail facilities, and regional sports complexes. Preparing a corridor plan for this segment of the roadway will aid the infrastructure planning for the development of the regional center bounded by Interstate 40 and Arroyo Vista Boulevard.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:

Section 1. To fulfill the City of Albuquerque’s responsibility to provide for the health, welfare, and safety of its citizens, especially for the purpose of resolving issues of inequity that have occurred though the development of the City’s built environment it is a priority of the City of Albuquerque to develop and construct to the full planned cross-section, 118^th Street from Ladera Drive to Senator Dennis Chavez. Development of the segment should:

1.                     Comply with the City’s Complete Streets regulations by accommodating for multiple modes of travel including motor vehicle, bicycles and pedestrians and providing landscaping.

2.                     Comply with Federal standards for roadway projects in Metropolitan Planning Areas to improve system efficiency throughout the Southwest Mesa.

3.                     Comply with Federal Environmental standards for roadway projects to protect the health of the natural environment.

Section 2. The City of Albuquerque encourages the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the New Mexico Transportation Commission to designate as a New Mexico Department of Transportation District 3 priority, the development of an interchange of 118^th Street with Ladera Drive. This should include the facility planning, all federal regulatory approval processes, design, engineering and construction.

Section 3. The City should assist the County of Bernalillo with the engineering planning study that will develop conceptual cross-sections, for 118^th Street, identify the right of way corridor, and provide estimated development costs for the purposes of identifying funds.

                     Section 4.  That funding the development of 118^th Street and the interchange is a City priority when seeking funds from the following revenue programs:

-                     City of Albuquerque Capital Implementation Program for Calendar Years 2023, 2025 and 2027,

-                     Programing new City of Albuquerque revenue that occurs in the Infrastructure Gross Receipts Tax Fund and One Time Federal Government Stimulus Funds,

-                     The City of Albuquerque State Legislative priorities for the purposes of procuring state funding for calendar years 2022 through 2027,

-                     Acquiring project funds from the New Mexico Department of Transportation Local Government Road Fund,

-                     Acquiring project funds in the 2025 through 2030 Transportation Improvement Program for the Mid Region Metropolitan Planning Organization, and

-                     Acquiring project funds from the Federal Highway Administration Discretionary Grant Programs.

Section 5. That the City of Albuquerque will work with the County of Bernalillo to pursue Federal Transportation Formula and Competitive Grants to fund the construction of 118^th Street.

Section 6. The City of Albuquerque will form a working group with the County of Bernalillo that will reach out to land owners to create zoning along 118^th Street that creates commercial development opportunities.