ABQ CiQlovía Returns on October 16th
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ABQ CiQlovía will return to Albuquerque this year on Sunday, October 16th from 10AM to 3PM. This year’s event will take place on Kathryn Avenue SE between San Pedro Drive SE and Louisiana Boulevard SE. Kathryn Avenue will be closed to vehicles to provide a safe space for people to walk, bicycle, and enjoy fun and healthy activities.
This year’s route will be nearly half a mile in length, providing a good amount of space for getting a nice bike ride in or an urban stroll on foot, wheelchair, skateboard, stroller or what have you. Along the route will be various information booths and interesting installations. In addition, there will be a wellness fair at Van Buren Middle School.
The event is free and open to all! Come out and enjoy Albuquerque’s version of the global phenomenon that celebrates open streets.
Learn more and find updates on the event here. |
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Celebrate bicycling in the Albuquerque area during ¡Bike thru Burque! Week from October 8th to October 16th. Whether you are exploring your neighborhood or nearby trail, visiting local businesses, or traveling to and from work, join the fun and win prizes by participating in biking activities throughout the week!
You can participate in various ways including committing to ride, participating in the team, individual, or kids’ riding challenge, proposing a ride for a crowdsourced map, and snapping photos for the scavenger hunt/photo contest. Close out the week by riding in ABQ CiQlovía on October 16th!
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MRCOG is Hiring Transportation Planning Interns! |
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MRCOG is hiring transportation planning interns. Undergraduate or graduate students in planning, geography, earth sciences, computer science, engineering, economics, and other related programs are encouraged to apply.
The internship is a great opportunity to learn about regional transportation planning and policy as well as gain skills in GIS, data analysis, and research into best practices. Interns are paid $16 an hour, work 15-19 hours per week for up to 9 months, and can receive college credit for the internship.
The deadline to apply has been extended until 5:00pm, Friday, October 7, 2022.
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ABQ RIDE Forward Network Plan
ABQ RIDE (the City of Albuquerque’s Transit Department) is launching the ABQ RIDE Forward Network Plan to guide where bus routes run, how frequently, and on what hours and days.
“This is a chance to step back from our current system and ensure that transit services reflect the values and priorities of the community,” said Transit Director Leslie Keener. “We look forward to hearing from the community.”
A project website at abqrideforward.com provides information, an “Existing Conditions Report,” a community survey, and ways to participate including community meetings on October 19th and 24th.
At this initial stage ABQ RIDE is looking for input on key choices, like how to balance running routes that are ridden by the greatest number of people (ridership) versus running routes that cover the greatest geographic area (coverage), illustrated by the examples below.
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These examples have the same number of people (dots) and buses but different service goals and ridership results.
There are six focus groups scheduled in October, and the current survey is available through the end of October 2022. More chances to participate will come throughout the project, expected to finish in fall 2023.
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Transportation Improvement Program Call for Projects |
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The Mid-Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MRMPO) has begun the development of the FFY 2024-2029 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for the Albuquerque Metropolitan Planning Area (AMPA).
This notification serves as the formal call for transportation project proposals.
The deadline to nominate projects and return completed forms to this office is
5:00 pm, Friday, December 30, 2022.
MRMPO will reject all late submittals.
TIP Development Important Links:
If you have any questions or require assistance with the TIP project nomination process,
please do not hesitate to contact Claudia Patricia Merlo at
cpmerlo@mrcog-nm.gov.
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Planning for Equity
Emerging in the 1980s when multiple research studies sharing evidence of pervasive patterns of inequitable exposure of communities of color to environmental harms gained national attention and activists were mobilized to seek corrective action, the environmental justice (EJ) movement in 1994 led to the enactment of Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority and Low-Income Populations. This order requires each
Federal agency, “to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law,” to “make achieving environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the United States.”
As part of its commitment to environmental justice principles, MRMPO is providing an Air Quality and Health Equity online map tool visualizing EPA EJ Screen air pollutant data along with environmental justice population demographics and indicators of health vulnerability to assess the distribution of traffic-related pollutant impacts. The purpose of the tool is to help inform actions to support improved and more equitable public health outcomes.
Additionally, in support of climate justice, the Climate Change Hazards Vulnerability Assessment Tool provides data layer visualizations indicating locations where the region's most vulnerable populations may be most exposed to risk to help inform emergency preparedness and prioritization of hazard mitigation actions.
Both of these mapping tools incorporate the recently developed MRMPO Vulnerability Index (MVI). Sourced from the most recent U.S. Census American Community Survey 2016-2020 demographic data, the MVI is modeled on the Social Vulnerability Index of the Center for Disease Control. The Social Vulnerability Index was developed to provide an indicator of the relative ability of communities to survive and thrive when confronted by external stresses on human health, such as pandemics and the natural hazards associated with climate change. The MVI differs from the CDC’s index in that the populations of concern are more inclusive (it adds women, ethnic minorities, and immigrants); it is based on more recent data; and comparisons between Census tracts are based on regional rather than state-wide averages.
The MVI is also incorporated into the recently updated Project Selection Process for the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to help prioritize infrastructure investments that will serve to improve equity by benefitting neighborhoods where historically disadvantaged populations are most concentrated within the region.
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Map 1 above is the MRMPO Vulnerability Index (MVI) and map 2 below is the Respiratory Hazard Index tab in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Planning Area (AMPA) Air Quality and Health Equity mapping tool. |
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Upcoming Meetings and Events at MRMPO |
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Friday, October 7 (1:30 PM): Transportation Coordinating Committee (TCC) Meeting (canceled)
Monday, October 10 (All Day): MRCOG Offices Closed
Friday, October 21 (10 AM): Metropolitan Transportation Board (MTB) Meeting
Friday, November 4 (1:30 AM): Transportation Coordinating Committee (TCC) Meeting
Friday, November 11 (All Day): MRCOG Offices Closed
Friday, November 18 (10 AM): Metropolitan Transportation Board (MTB) Meeting
Thursday, November 24 (All Day): MRCOG Offices Closed
Friday, November 25 (All Day): MRCOG Offices Closed
Friday, December 2 (1:30 PM): Transportation Coordinating Committee (TCC) Meeting
Friday, December 16 (10 AM): Metropolitan Transportation Board (MTB) Meeting
Monday, December 26 (All Day): MRCOG Offices Closed
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Please note that Travel Times is now published on a quarterly schedule with issues released in March, June, September, and December. If you have any questions regarding newsletter articles or suggestions for future content, please do not hesitate to contact Peach Anderson-Tauzer by email at panderson-tauzer@mrcog.gov.
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