Bernalillo County is planning multiple sustainability projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, address climate pollution and improve traffic safety and walking and biking trails.
Two of these projects will be focused in the East Mountains and the South Valley in Albuquerque and will include a pedestrian and bicycle safety action plan, stormwater infrastructure and energy efficiency upgrades, such as public electric vehicle charging stations.
“The South Valley and the East Mountains are really the only areas where the county has full jurisdiction,” said Bernalillo Commissioner Eric Olivas. “I think we could be seeing some of these projects starting in the summer, especially with some serious community outreach.”
The pedestrian and bicycle safety action plan will be implemented in the East Mountains which will expand and improve the existing trails on North 14 and Frost Road. This will coincide with the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of North 14 and Frost Road.
“Part of the trial project is to connect the roundabout, the existing North 14 trail and the existing Frost Road trail, so they all work together,” Olivas said. “The trail will connect the Frost Road communities, which are some of our more dense communities in the east mountains, with the retail areas and schools on North 14. It will be a safe and easy commute for kids and families who might walk or bike to San Antonito STEM Elementary School or East Mountain High School.”
The county is also planning to restore the watershed at Tijeras Creek by removing invasive species and installing erosion control so the streambed will have a more natural habitat. This will reduce flood risks, improve onsite and downstream water quality and restore native plant species.
In the South Valley, the county hopes to implement trees and stormwater infrastructure in residential streets that are impacted by flooding. This will reduce flooding by conserving potable water, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and urban heat.
“They haven’t quite identified the exact locations because they want the infrastructure to be decided by the neighborhoods,” Olivas said. “They don’t want to put them in places the neighborhoods don’t want them so they are taking a block by block approach and having neighborhood meetings to find communities that are interested in having them.”
There are also plans to conserve more energy by distributing more sustainability resources and infrastructure to community centers with the highest energy use intensity. They will focus on the Westside, Los Vecinos, Paradise Hills, Los Padillas and Mountain View community centers.
The Los Vecinos Community Center alone is proposed to receive 115 LED lighting fixture replacements, 38 improvements for water conservation, high efficiency transformations, six wireless style thermostats, dual port electronic vehicle charging stations and a battery back-up system sized to solar installation.
Within the initiative to make the county more energy efficient and improve air quality, they will build two electronic vehicle charging stations at the Route 66 Visitor Center and Alvarado Square Downtown, due to the locations being economically and environmentally disadvantaged.
According to Olivas, these locations were also selected because they are convenient places for fast charging. Alvarado Square is the county headquarters and the Route 66 Visitor Center is in close proximity to Interstate 40. This will cost $2,975,000 for the installation of eight charging ports.
While there is not a budget total for these projects yet, Olivas said with separate energy efficient projects the county has recently completed that involved charging stations, they have spent close to $16 million but saved approximately $20 million.
“These projects really pay for themselves and then some,” he said. “It is a long horizon look here at making sure we have charging infrastructure, making sure we enhance our trails so that we reduce the number of vehicle trips, having a healthy environment and human health, safety of our roads and the other improvements are all linked to one goal of being more sustainable and building infrastructure for the coming century.”