Level A Transportation Plan for Mesa del Sol

Mesa del Sol is a major planned community in Albuquerque, New Mexico covering 10,000 acres and the future home of 80,000 residents and 40,000 jobs – the largest planned community in New Mexico. Proposed by Forest City Covington on lands formerly held by the New Mexico State Land Office, the development is also envisioned to be developed according to New Urbanism design and planning principles. The project falls under the City of Albuquerque's Planned Communities Criteria guidelines which call for a series of "Level A" and "Level B" approvals of the proposed circulation elements, among other topics. As a member of the consulting team, Planning Technologies was responsible for all of the transportation modeling performed on behalf of the Level A Transportation Systems Analysis as well as some of the subsequent Level B impact studies for this project. The travel demand modeling approach relied on a version of the MRCOG regional travel model developed specifically for Mesa del Sol and involved a substantial degree of zone splitting. The models were used to evaluate on-site circulation system requirements as well as off-site impacts for immediate, intermediate, long-term, and build-out time frames. Analysis of those results furnished by Planning Technologies assisted the development of the circulation system and gateway connections to the surrounding network.

Master Plan Amendment for Upper Petroglyphs

The Upper Petroglyphs is a large 4,000 acre planned community located along Interstate-40 on Albuquerque's west side. This development is being planned by the nationally known SunCal Corporation on lands formerly held by Westlands, a long standing major land owner in Albuquerque. Recent revisions to the Master Plan sought by the developer as a result of recent planning charettes resulted in a need to confirm the adequacy of circulation planning elements originally approved in the early 1990s. Planning Technologies was commissioned to generate traffic forecasts on behalf of several circulation plan proposals and addressing various phasing issues for the Master Plan amendment. The various options also explored a new proposed interchange with I-40 to serve the development and extensions of 118th Street to connect with the street system on the southwest side. This we did through the employment of the MRCOG regional travel model configured with a more detailed zone system to better capture circulation movements within the project area. Planning Technologies furnished the traffic forecasts and turning movements forthcoming from the travel model for further analysis by the project team.

Middle Rio Grande Connections Study

The Middle Rio Grande Connections Study was an important systemwide major investment study and alternatives analysis that served the purpose of launching several important proposals for high capacity transit corridors in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The study was a joint effort between the New Mexico DOT and its local and regional partners. In this study, Planning Technologies was a member of the consulting team. Our responsibilities included the development of regional modeling networks and support for enhancements to the regional forecasting model and supplemental GIS analysis. Also, Planning Technologies contributed travel pattern analyses that made use of our specialized GIS based analysis tools, such as M2Probe. These tools helped identify prominent travel corridors in the region, characterize travel volumes associated with them, helped guage the level of transit investment that was appropriate for them, and ultimately to help prioritize them in terms of need and investment opportunity. Conclusions arising from the MRG Connections Study led to subsequent proposals for a "starter line" LRT system in Albuquerque's central corridor and the Railrunner Express commuter rail program.

I-25 Change of Access Study for Mesa del Sol Blvd.

One prominent feature of the Mesa del Sol development proposal (see above) concerns the introduction of a new interchange between Mesa del Sol Blvd., the new central artery planned for the project, and I-25. The developer, Forest City Covington, sponsored the change of access study to be conducted under the auspices of the New Mexico DOT. Planning Technologies was once again called on to supply travel demand forecasts and related analyses for the project team.

Our work built on networks and databases already built for the Mesa del Sol circulation study itself.

4th Street Revitalization Project

4th Street is the central artery through Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, the historically rural village in Albuquerque's North Valley. Once the route of historic Route 66, the village initiated a project to study the revitalization of this vital commercial corridor. Project elements included an examination of economic development opportunities, traffic needs, and environmental assessments. The project achieved local signfiicance through the adoption of New Urbanism planning objectives, including the potential reduction in roadway cross section and the introduction of traffic circles and other traffic calming elements. Planning Technologies assisted the prime consultant in this study by furnishing travel projections and analyses of traffic patterns, making use of the MRCOG regional travel model and our own GIS-based tools for traffic analysis. The planning analysis and documents have been completed, but so far no decision has been made on the candidate alternatives.

Nob Hill/Hiland Parking Study

In this planning assignment for the Bernalillo County Public Works Department, Planning Technologies conducted a parking study for the Nob Hill and Hiland neighborhoods along Central Avenue (historic Route 66) in Albuquerque. This study was initiated as a result of complaints forthcoming from the neighborhoods. The study included surveys of parking supply and demand. We used our GIS capabilties to map current conditions in these neighborhoods and to characterize potential solutions.

Results of our analysis indicated that expansion of parking facilities already planned for the near future would ameliorate current problems.