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By Peter Rice
Tuesday, November 7, 2006

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I hear that train a comin'

Passed: By a 6-3 vote, the renewal of one-fourth percent gross receipts transportation tax, now tweaked to include funding for the modern streetcar project.

Please don't tell what train I'm on: Public comment on the proposal went on for more than an hour, with supporters emphasizing new tourist dollars, efficient transportation along a major city corridor and the potential for urban renewal. Opponents focused on the steep $28 million per mile price tag and the fact that voters had no inkling of the streetcar project when they approved the tax in 1999.

When I hear that lonesome whistle: Nobody hung their head and cried, but Councilors Michael Cadigan, Don Harris and Brad Winter did vote against the renewal, which also includes money for road repairs and improvements.

"The public would never have voted for this in 1999 if they knew we were going to do this today," Harris said.

But that train keeps on rolling: Councilors made a few changes to the bill before signing off on it. The streetcar route now extends a few blocks west of the Rio Grande, to Atrisco Plaza, instead of the Albuquerque Biological Park, and east to Washington Street (instead of Carlisle Boulevard). Since that would include new features such as a bridge, it's not clear what effect it will have on the project's cost. They also slapped a new sunset on the tax: 2020. An amendment proposed by Winter to turn the whole idea over to voters lost by the same 6-3 vote that passed the renewal.

Now the design team will get to work on the detailed project plans.

"It's real now," said city Chief Operations Officer Ed Adams.

Score one for Bambi

Passed: By a voice vote, a proposal to spend $650,000 to buy a 67-acre parcel of land near Tijeras for preservation as open space.

The missing link: The stretch of ground is a critical crossing point for deer, bears and other game looking to commute between the Sandias and Manzanos. Developing the area, according to Department of Game and Fish habitat specialist Mark Watson, would have prevented the populations from expanding and maintaining genetic diversity.

The buy would allow the state to build an underpass below N.M. 333, further facilitating the wildlife passage.

Closing the loop

Passed: By a voice vote, a measure that will have the city install recycling containers at apartment complexes.

Wasting away in Landfillville: The measure is meant to chip away at the amount of stuff we have to bury for all eternity. Eventually, the city wants to divert 100 percent of the "waste stream" away from landfills.

Those living in conventional houses can bag their recyclables and leave them out curbside on garbage day for city pick-up. Apartment dwellers didn't have that option before and had to content themselves with area recycling drop-off centers. For more information on recycling in general, phone 311 or visit www.cabq.gov/solidwaste/recycle.html.

Boxed in

Deferred: Because of the late hour, a body of regulations governing the development of big box stores will have to sit tight for a while.

Save the date: The matter will return to the council Nov. 20. We know you're excited, but try to be patient.