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The Nob Hill community is being used as a guinea pig for two programs its residents hope will lead to safer neighborhoods citywide.

Mayor Martin Chavez on Tuesday unveiled two new safety initiatives in Nob Hill aimed at providing safer streets and stronger community interaction.

In one, the city will install kiosks at six Rapid Ride bus stops along Central Avenue that allow people to push a button to dispatch police help.

In the other, the city — with a $100,000 gift from retail giant Target Corp. — has set up a Web site to allow businesses and residents to report public safety issues and receive e-mail alerts from city police.

"It's community-based policing as it needs to be," Chavez said during a news conference at the Monte Vista police substation near the University of New Mexico.

Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said Rapid Ride bus stops are a common location for police service calls.

Once the kiosks are installed, someone in distress simply hits a button that directs an automated video camera to the kiosk and police will be dispatched, Chavez said.

He said the city is now seeking bids for the kiosk program, a process that will help the city know the exact cost of each one. It could be at least five months before a kiosk is in operation, he said.

"This added bonus will allow us to make this a safer city," said City Councilor Rey Garduño, who represents the Nob Hill area.

In the second initiative, the city is implementing a national "Safe City" program in which residents of a prescribed area can sign-up on a city Web site to receive updates on public safety issues and interact with other neighborhood leaders.

Target, which has played a part in 26 Safe City initiatives across the country, is providing $100,000 to kick-start the Albuquerque program, said Ken Cox, an asset protection team leader for Target in Albuquerque.

Here's how it works:

Residents and business owners in the area from University Boulevard east to San Mateo Boulevard, Coal Avenue to the south and Lomas Boulevard to the north, can visit Safecityabq.org.

Once there, they must register for access to the site. They will then receive e-mails from city police notifying them of public safety issues in their area.

They can also report safety concerns on the Web site, a function that notifies neighborhood association leaders who, in turn, would contact police when necessary, said Karen Fischer, director of the Police Department's Strategic Support Division.

"It allows us to collectively survey the crime threats going on in our neighborhood," Chavez said. "And in the process, we find ways to do things better."

The Web site will also give instruction on how to set up neighborhood watch programs — groups that can fluctuate over time as leaders come and go, Chavez said.

The program also includes decals business owners can stick in shop windows, something Chavez said acts as a symbol of an enterprise that's in sync with its community.

"I'm going to be one of the first owners to put one of these in my window," said Jim Neustel, president of the Nob Hill Business Association and owner of Peacecraft, a store selling fair-trade goods.

"This ends up being a real statement."

Schultz said the Nob Hill area was chosen for both programs because it's an area with a lot of new businesses, and "it's a neighborhood that's committed to make a difference in their quality of life."

If successful, several city officials said both the kiosk and Safe City programs could be stretched to benefit the rest of the city.