Albuquerque's Environmental Story
Albuquerque's Environmental Story
A
motorist traveling through Tijeras Canyon catches his first glimpse of Albuquerque
at the eastern edge of the East Gateway community. The three dominant features
of the community--the Tijeras Arroyo, Central Avenue and Interstate 40 --converge
through the canyon, then separate, dividing the community into three distinct
areas.
The major natural features of the area are the Sandia and Manzano Mountain ranges and Tijeras Canyon and the Tijeras Arroyo, which form the division between them. The geologic features of the East Gateway community are the result of faulting and subsequent modification, erosion, transport, and deposition of the granite formations of the Manzano and Sandia mountains over hundreds of thousands of years.
Most of the East Gateway community is situated upon alluvial fan deposits. Sediment loads, transported from the face of the Manzano and Sandia mountains during peak discharges, were deposited at points of slope reduction, such as the mouth of Tijeras Canyon and along the base of the mountains. Over time, alluvial fans built up. Sandy loam and gravely soils have since developed on these fans.
The Tijeras (meaning "scissors") Arroyo is the largest in Bernalillo county. It cuts into the rocks of Tijeras Canyon east of Four Hills Road and into the alluvial deposits to the west. East of Four Hills Road, the Tijeras is a perennial stream, but it goes subsurface at the Four Hills fault. East of Four Hills Road, the Tijeras is constrained in a fairly narrow, steep-sided channel. Rock outcroppings and stands of cottonwoods in this reach of the arroyo create an open space experience unique in the foothills. At points between Four Hills Road and Kirtland Air Force Base (AFB), the broad expanse of the Tijeras floodplain is over 1,000 ft. wide. The catchment area of the Tijeras Arroyo is approximately 80 square miles east of Kirtland AFB.
Paleo-Indian communities in Tijeras Canyon were established about 900 years ago. Over 60 prehistoric sites have been identified east of the Albuquerque city limit in the canyon. Other occupants of the canyon have included Apache Indians in the 17th and 18th centuries followed by Spanish settlers in land grants designated in 1763 and 1819. Vestiges of the corrals and irrigation structures built to accommodate the agricultural pursuits of the Spanish families remain on the slopes of the Tijeras Arroyo.
The Carnue site, which is on the state register of historic places, has been incorporated into the Singing Arrow Park. A display area within this neighborhood park explains the significant findings at the site.
Plans were made to build a railroad through the canyon to connect Albuquerque and Moriarty in the early 1900s. Some rights-of-way were surveyed and graded, and a few bridges and other structures were built. But the railroad company was plagued with financial problems, and no track was laid in the canyon. A relatively modern two-lane highway was built through the canyon in 1925. It was paved with asphalt and designated as a part of U.S. Route 66 in the 1930s. During the next 25 years it was widened, portions of it were relocated, and truck lanes were added. Route 66 served as the eastern entrance to the city until traffic was diverted in 1965 with the construction of I-40, which is now the major transportation system through the canyon and the major east-west route through Albuquerque.
Unique
Tramway BoulevardThe southern terminus of Tramway Boulevard is located within the East Gateway community. Tramway is a unique street in Albuquerque. As the eastern leg of a proposed "loop road" intended to provide access around the city, Tramway was designed as a limited-access roadway with an off-road trail and a xeric streetscape that echoes the natural environment of the foothills. The city purchased right-of-way for Tramway along with some platted parcels. Tramway accommodates automobiles, bicyclists and pedestrians. The recreational trail adjacent to the roadway is one of Albuquerque's most heavily used trails.
The first subdivisions in the foothills north of Central Avenue were platted in the late 1940s. These older subdivisions are located south of the Embudo Arroyo and east of what is now Tramway Boulevard. Wells Sandia Manor, platted in 1948, was one of these early subdivisions. Like other subdivisions of that era, Wells Sandia Manor was platted and its lots sold to individuals. The subdivision has built out slowly over the past four decades, with no significant development until a special assessment district was put in place to pay for the roads, utility lines, and other infrastructure necessary to support a neighborhood.
Los Altos Park, a regional park, is located on the Eastgate community's western border with a swimming pool, a golf course and tennis courts. About 1915, Woodrow Wilson deeded a section of land to the city. City officials got approval to sell off half the section in the early 1950s to raise funds for the growing community. The other 320 acres, however, remained in public ownership, and in 1959 a 180-acre golf course opened on the property. Including the golf course, the park comprises 32 acres, with a swimming pool, tennis courts, a softball complex, the Albuquerque Garden Center, and the city's animal control facility. At the eastern end of the community are the major public open spaces of the Sandia foothills and the Manzano open space.
Although platting of subdivisions in the community began as early as 1939, little development occurred on the east mesa beyond the State Fairgrounds until after 1945. In the late 1950s, however, development began in earnest. Construction of the Western Skies Motel in 1959 and subsequent development of Four Hills Village established a prestigious entrance to the city near the mouth of the canyon. Western Skies Motel remained an Albuquerque landmark until its demolition in 1988. Four Hills Village Shopping Center now occupies the site.
Four Hills Country Club, the second country club built in Albuquerque, and the surrounding residential neighborhood encompassed about 900 acres. The first home in Four Hills Village was completed in 1957 and the golf course in 1958. Large lots, rolling foothills, spectacular views, proximity to the mountains, and the golf course all made Four Hills Village the premier new neighborhood of its era.
Land use controls were implemented along Central Avenue in 1959 when the city established zoning. The zoning pattern at that time anticipated a deep commercial strip along Route 66, with high-density housing close to Kirtland AFB and Sandia National Labs. Postwar suburban subdivisions were platted in the northern part of the community.
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Development, spreading east from established Albuquerque, occurred first along Central Ave. Much of the development along this portion of Central included motels and other tourist service businesses. After the construction of I-40, the development of Central Ave. slowed, and today the Central commercial strip contains some neighborhood shopping and small businesses.
Neighborhoods adjacent to Central Ave. began developing around 1960, and residential construction has continued as both new subdivisions and established-area infill. The East Gateway community contains a diverse mix of housing types and income levels. Until the 1980s single-family homes and mobile homes predominated. Four Hills Mobile Home Park is the largest in the city, with 1,000 spaces. In the 1970s apartment and townhouse development occurred on the land zoned for higher-density housing, and the population of the area doubled between 1970 and 1980.
Much of the land area of the community remains vacant even today. The Albuquerque Board of Education purchased nearly 500 acres of land south of Central Avenue between Eubank and Juan Tabo. Annexation, zoning, and a master plan for this area, called Manzano Mesa, were approved in the 1960s. However, the land did not develop as planned, and eventually Albuquerque Public Schools presented a revised plan for the property. Homes are now being built in the new Willow Wood Subdivision in the southeastern part of the property. This new development adds residential population in the area south of I-40, population needed to support the commercial enterprises that serve the community. Future plans include additional single-family residences, apartments and commercial/industrial development.
The University of New Mexico owned a half-section of land bisected by I-40 between Lomas and Copper east of Eubank. The northern part of the property was sold and partially developed with a number of motels. The southern half was developed with the GTE/Lenkurt manufacturing plant (now vacant) and Town Parke, a single-family residential development. More recently the area on both sides of I-40 has become a major "power center" with a full range of retail and discount warehouse/retail businesses.
(Up to Section II, Back to North Albuquerque, On to Foothills)