1

IN THIS ISSUE

BIKE-TO-WORK WEEK 2

TRANSPORTATION SURVEY 2

NMDOT LONG RANGE PLAN 3

NCRTD ldquoBLUE BUSrdquo NEWS 4

NM RAIL RUNNER NEWS 4

AMTRAK UPDATE 5

TRANSPORATION POLICY

BOARD 400 PM

Market Station Offices

SFMPO TECHNICAL COORDI-

NATING COMMITTEE

130 PM

Market Station Offices

S A N T A F E M E T R O P O L I T A N P L A N N I N G O R G A N I Z A T I O N

Volume 1 Issue 3

April 1 2014

Representing youhellip

City of Santa Fe

Santa Fe County

Pueblo of Tesuque

NMDOT

iexclVaacutemonos Santa Fe ldquoCollectively promoting interconnected transportation optionsrdquo

wwwsantafempoorg

Apr

24th

Apr

21st

Santa Fe MPO Welcomes New Transportation Policy Board

Members

The recent elections at the City of Santa Fe resulted in the addition of Mayor

Javier Gonzales Councilor Carmichael Dominguez and Alternate Member

Councilor Peter Ives to the MPO Policy Board These folks join Commis-

sioner Miguel Chavez (Chair) Tesuque Governor Robert Mora (Vice-Chair)

Councilor Patti Bushee Commissioner Liz Stefanics Commissioner Robert

Anaya and NMDOT Deputy Secretary Kathy Bender

In March your Policy Board heard the following (Ctrl-Click to view presentations)

1 Provided a recommendation to the NMDOT for an update to the Functional

Classification of Roadways within the Santa Fe MPO Planning Area

2 A presentation on the MPO Pedestrian Master Plan Phase I

3 A presentation on the status of the NortheastSoutheast Connector Align-

ment and Corridor Study for the Community College District

4 Presentation on the status of the Amtrak Southwest Chief (See pg 5)

5 Transportation Improvement Program Project Updates

Why Attend a MPO Transportation Policy Board Meeting

Board meetings often have a stigma of ldquoanother bored meetingrdquo however

the MPO Policy Board is faced with substantial decisions that impact how we

all move about the Santa Fe Metropolitan area

Attending a policy board meeting is a great chance to meet your City Coun-

ty Tribal and NMDOT leaders in an environment that is inviting friendly and

engaging The next meeting is at 400 PM on April 24th at the Market Station

Offices above REI If you cannot make the meeting contact us through our

website at wwwsantafempoorg or stop by the offices and introduce yourself

to staff and let us know what is on your mind

NM599Jaguar Drive Interchange Breaks Ground

The first privately funded interchange in New Mexico celebrated it Ground

Breaking on April 1st The interchange will become the

primary access to the Santa Fe Municipal Airport to the

west and the Cityrsquos SWAN Park and Tierra Contenta to the

east Future Commercial Developments Santa Fe Com-

mercial Center along the west side of NM599 and Village

Plaza at Tierra Contenta along the east will also be ac-

cessed from the interchange Construction is expected to

be substantially complete by the end of 2014 Infor-

mation on this project will be posted on the MPO website in the coming days

2

wwwsantafempoorg

Do WANT to Bike to Work Do you bike for fun If so you

are not alone Join fellow bicycle

commuters for Bike-to-Work

Week Santa Fe May 12th ndash 16th

During the week there will be

group rides presentations music giveaways and you can ride

the bus for free if you have your bike with you

Did you know that on average American households spend about

$2200 dollars a year on gas and that on a round-trip commute of

10 miles bicyclists save roughly $10 dollars a day and burn ap-

proximately 360 calories in the process Donrsquot take our word for it

come to the Railyard on Friday May 16th and talk with your fellow

Santa Fe bicyclists You can look forward to a chance to win a Cinelli (Chin-elle) Single Speed

Urban Bicycle For more information wwwsantafempoorg or Facebookbiketoworksantafe

2014 Transportation Survey Comments The Santa Fe MPO is continuing itrsquos kick off to the update of the 2010 Metropolitan Trans-

portation Plan Here is a sample of the comments we are receivinghellip

Would love an alternative to my car to travel the 11 miles from the middle

of town to the far southside where I work (bus with quick connections light

rail continuous and safe bike paths) I used to take the bus when I did not

need to transfer

It would be nice to get bus service on the west side of town (W Alameda)

especially in winter when it is too darkcold or snowy to use the bike trails

The community college area needs improved access it is very difficult to

get to during rush hour

I want the Railrunner to go directly to the Sunport express service Also

Galisteo ingress onto Zia Rd doesnt allow me to get in extreme left lane to

turn onto St Francis due to heavy traffic

Ive lived here 6 or 7 years and have seen vast improvement on bike paths and trails Thank you Its a

great town for bikes because of the scale so Id love to see more emphasis on rider and pedestrian safe-

ty

Please increase and improve the public transit system in Santa Fe Especially the bus system My family

and I would use it if it was improved - ie had buses going more often to more places regularly

We are keeping our survey open Please go to wwwsantafempoorg and

tell us what is on your mind

Click Here for a

chance to WIN this Rat

3

wwwsantafempoorg

New Mexico 2040 Statewide Long-Range Multimodal Transportation

Plan

Your input is only a click awayhellip

wwwnewmexicotransportationplancomtagtransportation-plan

The New Mexico Department of Trans-

portation (NMDOT) has begun a com-

prehensive and collaborative process to

develop a 2040 Statewide Long-Range

Multimodal Transportation Plan (SLRP)

The plan will provide a vision for how

New Mexicorsquos transportation system can

support the well-being of our residents

and visitors now and in the future The

plan will answer four basic questions

1 Where are we now What is the exist-

ing condition of the transportation sys-

tem

2 Where do we want to go What is the

vision for the future of the system

3 How are we going to get there What

investments will help us achieve the vi-

sion

4 What will it take What resources ndash

staff and financial ndash are required

Public Input Meetings in or near

our neck of the woods include

1 Thursday April 10 2014 Sandoval

(Rural) Santa Fe (Edgewood only) and

Torrance Counties

Location Middle Rio Grande Council

of Governments (809 Copper Ave

NW ABQ

Time 930 am

2 Wednesday May 7th 2014 Rio Arriba

Taos Los Alamos and Santa Fe (rural

except Edgewood) Counties

Presentation on SLRP to Northern Pueblos

RTPO Policy Committee

Location TBD

Time 1000 am

And in Santa Fe

2 Tuesday May 27 2014 ndash Santa Fe

Presentation on SLRP to Santa Fe MPO

Technical Coordinating Committee

Location City of Santa Fe Market

Station Offices (500 Market Street

Suite 200 Santa Fe ndash in Railyard)

Time Meeting starts at 130 pm

3 Thursday May 29 2014 ndash Santa Fe

Presentation on SLRP to Santa Fe MPO

Transportation Policy Board

Location City of Santa Fe Market

Station Offices (500 Market Street

For additional information Contact Claude Morelli SLRP Project Manager

New Mexico Department of Transportation (505) 660-3146

claudemorellistatenmus

4

Community Transportation Magazine is a prod-

uct of The Community Transportation Associa-

tion of America (CTAA) which is dedicated to

the fundamental values that built this nation

freedom independence dignity and choice

wwwctaaorg

North Central Regional Transit District ldquoThe Blue

Busrdquo featured in national issue of Community

Transportation Magazine

Aptly titled the theme of the issue is ldquoThe Rural Transit

Realityldquo where Rich Sampson details the NCRTDrsquos operational

framework and what to expect (literally) down the road

Ctrl -Click the Blue Bus and Go to the

issue

wwwsantafempoorg

New Montantildeo Station to Open The Montantildeo Rail Runner StationMontantildeo Transit Center is scheduled to open on Monday April 7 2014 Download the New Schedule Effective April 7

2014

The station is located within Albuquerquersquos newest

transportation hub ndash the Montantildeo Transit Center It

serves residents of Albuquerquersquos North Valley

and the bustling MontantildeoMontgomery river-

crossing corridor LED lighting solar panels and a

pueblo-revival style rail platform are just some of

the features unique to this station

Excerpt from the Article

Expanding the Reach

On their own the NCRTDrsquos collection of 22

routes span an impressive swath of North

Central New Mexico But for an entity that

places a priority on a regional mindset the

systemrsquos array of connections to six different

mobility providers broadens the mobility

opportunities available to the regionrsquos resi-

dents In addition to Santa Fe Trails and the

Chile Line in Taos NCRTD routes link with

local routes in the city of Los Alamos on

Atomic City Transit and the town of Red

Riverrsquos Minerrsquos Transit

Saturday May 10

Celebrate Americas love for trains The

4th annual National Train Day event takes

place on Saturday May 10 from 1-5 pm at

the Alvarado Transportation Center Enjoy

interactive exhibits and activities model

trains mini train rides a rock climbing

wall face painting local food vendors tours of the New Mex-

ico Rail Runner Express and much more FREE and fun for

the entire family

Time

100 - 500 pm

Location

Alvarado Transportation Center

100 1st Street SW

Albuquerque NM 87102

Rio Metro

Rail Runner

News

5

S A N T A F E M E T R O P O L I T A N P L A N N I N G O R G A N I Z A T I O N

wwwsantafempoorg

ldquoIn 1878 the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company

(ATampSF) become the first railroad to enter New Mexico Connected in

1880 by an eighteen-mile railroad spur from the town of Lamy Santa Fe became a pop-

ular destination where tourists could see the unchanging reminders of ancient native

cultures that flourished in the area Be-

tween 1880 and 1940 Santa Fe changed

from a ldquosleepyrdquo Southwest town to a

flourishing tourist mecca largely

through the marketing efforts of the rail-

roadrdquo (Dye Victor ldquoAll Aboard for Santa

Fe Railway Promotion of the Southwest

1890s to 1930s UNM Press 2006)

In January 2016 Amtrakrsquos agreement expires for the use of Burlington North-

ern Santa Fersquos tracks through northeast New Mexico

Amtrak Southwest Chief operates one daily train in each direction between

Los Angeles and Chicago (2256 miles)

BNSF has shifted its freight operations from this route no reason to maintain

its rail line to higher standards for Amtrak

Amtrak indicates it does not have sufficient funds to pay BNSF to maintain the

line to 79 mph standards

BNSF has offered Amtrak use of BNSF Transcontinental line for Southwest

Chief

Amtrak needs funding in place to remain on current route or begin relocation

by January 2015

In 2014 the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the New Mexico Attor-

ney Generalrsquos Office are embarking on studies at the request of our NM Legisla-

tures including

1 Cost Benefit AnalysismdashAn economic impact report will look at the cost bene-

fits of keeping Amtrak on its original line

2 Legal AnalysismdashThe NM Constitutionrsquos anti-donation clause will be reviewed

to determine if allocating funds to Amtrak would be legal

On March 27th 2014 the Santa Fe MPO Policy Board received a presentation from

Frank Sharpless NMDOTrsquos Transit and Rail Division Director updating the

members of the status of the line The presentation is detailed and informative

and maybe downloaded by Ctrl-Clicking the Chief

Northern New Mexicorsquos Southwest Chief 1878mdash 2016

6

Project updates

Visit our website and

Stay informed

Make a statement

Follow us on Face-

book

Sign up for our

newsletter

Make a difference

You may be surprised at what a difference you can make

Santa Fe Metropolitan Planning Organization

wwwsantafempoorg

Not your Grandfatherrsquos

idea of Transportation

Planning

Safety

Accessibility

Mobility

Livability

ldquoCollectively promoting interconnected transportation optionsrdquo