ISLETA & BRIDGE SW, ALBUQUERQUE—Most of Albuquerque is laid out in a grid with main streets being about a mile apart. This is not really the case in Albuquerque’s South Valley. Oh, Bridge Blvd. runs east and west in a straight line all right. But Isleta Blvd. doesn’t follow those urban planning precepts.
In fact, many of the north/south roads in the valley tend to wander a bit. The reason is that these roads have been in existence for centuries. Isleta Blvd. used to be Route 66 before the 1937 re-alignment. But it actually predates Route 66 by at least 400 years.
It was part of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro which ran from Mexico City to San Juan Pueblo. This 1,600 mile trade route, The Royal Road to the Interior Lands, came up from the south on what is now Isleta Blvd. and crossed the Rio Grande right here by Bridge. There are road signs on Isleta directing urban explorers to actual locations.
There has always been a lot of traffic in this area of the South Valley, but it also seemed to be somewhat neglected in terms of the kinds of things other parts of the city take for granted, like sidewalks, lighting, curbs, and landscaping.
But, I hadn’t actually had a good look at what is going on down there in a while, so I called up Richard Meadows on the phone. He’s the manager of the South Valley MainStreet effort.
The area encompassed by the South Valley MainStreet program centers around the intersection of Bridge and Isleta. On Bridge it runs from Five Points to the river, and north to south from Bridge to Harding on Isleta.
Right at that Bridge and Isleta intersection is one of the newest projects: the South Valley Gateway Park. This was a partnership between Bernalillo County and Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority (AMAFCA).
It’s a pretty large park with some of the usual picnic tables and children’s play areas, but it also has spots for food trucks and growers market vendors. It is a kind of meeting place for community activities which was much needed in this part of town.
On August 29th, the Gateway Park will be the scene of the second annual South Valley Chile Fiesta. There will be arts & crafts vendors, food vendors, a beer and wine garden, bands, food trucks, chile roasters, and locally made salsa. It takes place just when the chile is coming out. Last year about 2,000 people attended.
Another feature of this park cannot be overlooked: the wonderful tile sculptures of Cassandra Reid. They are also on some of the Isleta bus stops. I love them! Each tile is not a broken piece that the artist sets in mortar. Each piece is crafted in those shapes and then fired. They are really beautiful and have that added 3-dimensional quality to them. Their themes water, sun, plants, growth and the interconnectedness of life are totally appropriate to this park. She has work all over town…and no wonder.
Richard said that there is a growers’ market here every Thursday during the season from 5 – 8 PM. Usually there are six to eight vendors and several food trucks.
Another recent project has been the facade improvements in the 800 block of Bridge Blvd. Here’s what the South Valley MainStreet newsletter said about it:
Ten community volunteers and 30 PNM volunteers turned out on May 21 to paint four buildings in the 800 block of Bridge Boulevard, on the south side, between La Vega Road and Isleta Boulevard. South Valley MainStreet received a $15,000 PNM grant to make improvements in the district. One of the vacant spaces will become a community pop-up center for artists, eco-tours, coffee house, winter growers market, and environmental education. Friends of Valle de Oro will be one of the main occupants. A special shout-out to PNM employees, South Valley Civitan, Partnership for Community Action, South Valley Economic Development Center, Mixing Bowl, Valle de Oro, Rodgers Plumbing, Bernadette Lloyd, Nine Mile Tees, Tortilleria Cuauhtemoc, La Isla, as well as MainStreet board members who helped out. Architect Will Powell prepared the renderings in consultation with the business owners. MainStreet project organizers are interested in hearing what the community thinks of the results.
I also heard that sculptor and artist Cassandra Reid will have a studio and gallery there.
But the biggest project for this region is the $25 million federally funded redo of Bridge Blvd. from Coors Blvd. all the way to the Hispanic Cultural Center. This will include a new street-scape as well. Bridge is also on the new 50-mile activity loop. What that means is protected bike lanes. Excellent!
Richard Meadows explained that what they are trying to do is to promote the whole South Valley…to create economic opportunities for tourism and cultural and agricultural activities.
Several different governmental groups are at work here. Bernalillo County has done a lot of amazing work. This includes a business incubator space that involves a rentable kitchen. People processing food for everybody from school lunch providers to salsa manufacturers get started here in this modern and safe kitchen. Some get bigger and move to their own facility…some stay.
“Some of the local businesses have had to move out of the South Valley to get retail space; we want to create the opportunity for them to stay here.”
