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Conference Tours

All tours carry a nominal fee to cover transportation costs and refreshments. It is possible to sign up for more than one tour. Space on each tour is limited, and pre-registration is required.

Wednesday, January 21st           

Tour #1 - A Taste of Taos
8:30 am – 6:30 pm
Cost: $75
The Town of Taos is one of the most enjoyable destinations in New Mexico for artists, historians, and outdoor enthusiasts. Take a walking tour of the historic district and enjoy local food, art, and architecture. Visit Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and experience North America's oldest smart growth project. Join local planners to learn about the most recent smart growth strategies in this rural historic community. Transportation for this tour includes a bus and walking. Light refreshments and lunch will be provided.

Tour #2 - Smart Growth, Santa Fe Style
8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Cost: $60
Santa Fe’s distinctive style that combines art and architecture in a unique setting is on display during this mobile workshop. Learn from the world-renown Plaza, Canyon Road’s concentration of art galleries, the brand new convention center, and the Santa Fe Railyard Park and Farmers Market why historic preservation and redevelopment in Santa Fe yields a year-round destination for residents and visitors. Transportation for this tour includes the Rail Runner, a bus and walking. Light refreshments and lunch will be provided.

Thursday, January 22nd

Tour #3 - Revitalizing Downtown Albuquerque with an Historic School
11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Cost: $15
Don’t miss this tour of one of Albuquerque's most distinctive and oldest public schools, Coronado Elementary. Located in the heart of downtown Albuquerque on what was formerly the old route 66 (4th Street), Coronado Elementary School was first constructed in 1894 as the ‘Fourth Ward School’. In 1937, the school was reconstructed as a Federal Public Works Administration project. Contrary to the many school districts nationwide that are closing schools at their urban cores, Albuquerque Public Schools District is reopening one of its oldest, and now one of its finest, schools. The tour of Coronado Elementary will showcase how the historic site was brought up to modern standards while not compromising its original architecture and authenticity. Learn how unique challenges were addressed: providing adequate parking; planning for traffic circulation in the center of a business district; ensuring pedestrian safety; and incorporating the various educational programmatic needs on a small site. Transportation for this tour includes a trolley and light walking. Lunch will be provided.

Tour #4 - Full Speed Ahead - Transit and TOD in New Mexico
11:30 am – 3:00 pm
Cost: $35
The New Mexico Rail Runner Express is the fastest commuter rail start-up in the United States. While located in a mid-size metropolitan area characterized by sprawl and low-density development, ridership has been steadily increasing and the Rail Runner is now being described as a visionary, 21st Century transportation project. This mobile workshop will focus on the operational and planning factors that are contributing to the Rail Runner’s success, including service design, branding and marketing. This workshop will provide participants with information on how to fast-track the planning and implementation of commuter rail service; how regional commuter rail and bus planning are supporting each other; and how station areas are introducing land use into the transportation equation. Transportation for this tour includes the Rail Runner, a bus and light walking. Lunch will be provided.

Tour #5 - Home Grown: Affordable, Livable and Sustainable Projects in Burque
12:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Cost: $38
Albuquerque created new policy in 2007 to support permanently affordable workforce housing in downtown neighborhoods threatened with gentrification. This mobile tour will view three housing developments funded through the Workforce Housing Trust Fund, all of which are mixed-use and mixed income. City officials and non-profit advocates will emphasize three major topic areas: the tools that the City employed in it’s Workforce Housing Opportunity Act, the partnerships that produce the housing and the “sustainable” green features in the projects. One of the developments is located in the Sawmill Community Land Trust’s 27-acre livable community called the Arbolera de Vida or the “Orchard of Life” community. Transportation for this tour includes a bus and light walking. Light refreshments will be provided.

Tour #6 - Mesa del Sol – A Cutting Edge Approach to Community Planning
1:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Cost: $38
Come take a tour of a smart new district designed to celebrate art and industry, the individual and the community, Mother Nature and common sense. Mesa del Sol is a rare example of a project in which public and private interests are actually working together rather than mutually working against each other. In addition to the insights behind our master plans, this tour will also visit Albuquerque Studios and Advent Solar, both located in Innovation Park. Transportation for this tour includes a bus and light walking. Light refreshments will be provided.

Tour #7 - Albuquerque Streetcar: If You Build it, They Will Come
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Cost: $15
This is not your typical streetcar session. Bring your cameras and walking shoes to a tour of the future Central Avenue Streetcar route. This tour will provide a unique opportunity to explore the Central Avenue corridor so you can say, “I was there before the streetcar was constructed.” During the tour, key economic and transportation benefits of the streetcar will be discussed. This tour will allow participants to experience the unique conditions that make a streetcar a tool for redevelopment. All participants will receive a CD with detailed pictures of the corridor, a copy of the cost-benefit study that provides leading edge analysis and a peer comparison from existing systems across the country. This tour will depart from the conference hotel on foot and use the existing Rapid Ride BRT to tour the corridor. Participants will spend time in key redevelopment areas in downtown, EDO (east downtown), Nob Hill, and the Westside. Transportation for this tour includes the local ABQ ride and walking.

Sunday, January 25th

Tour #8 - Back to the Future: A 21st Century Vision for a Mid-20th Century Boulevard
*CANCELLLED*

Tour #9 - Southeast Heights: The “IN” Place to Be
9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Cost: $15
This is an opportunity to see the beginning of a community transformation. The Southeast Heights of Albuquerque is transitioning from a community neglected by government to a vibrant International Neighborhoods District. This tour will include poor housing and retail development and some of the steps being done to address the problems. On this tour we will see a clinic that used a great deal of community participation in its development as well as a market that redeveloped within the neighborhood and is playing a part in transforming the community. Transportation for this tour includes the local ABQ ride and walking. Light refreshments will be provided.

Tour #10 - Downtown Albuquerque Walk Audit with Walkability Guru Dan Burden
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Cost: $15
Dan Burden is the founder of Walkable Communities, Inc., and the Bicycle
Federation of America. Having taught over 120 walkable communities courses throughout the nation and having worked with more than 500 U.S. and world cities, Burden is the "Johnny Appleseed" for these innovative strategies. This walking audit (also known as a walking workshop) will explore the technique and methods of discovery through downtown Albuquerque, the historic district and main street environment. The discovery will include an interactive exploration by participants of streetscapes, urban development, urban infill, public space, parking and traffic management principles and practices. This is a walking tour.

Tour #11 - Bike Your Way Through Local Infill Projects
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Cost: $15
The highlight of this tour will be the Bricklight District (formerly called Harvard Mall). Bricklight is a live/work/play development a block from the University of New Mexico that became open to tenants in July, so it’s as fresh and new as it comes! After a tour inside Bricklight, the bike tour will continue east where it will stop at different developments in the Nob Hill Neighborhood. The tour will conclude back at Civic Plaza. The tour will be a little over 5 miles, and there is a 130-foot climb that will happen in the span of ¾ of a mile. You must be able to climb this grade on the bicycle to participate in the tour.  Bicycles will be provided for this tour, please let us know in advance what size frame you will need (nnichols 'AT' lgc 'DOT' org).