4th Street and Montano Area Improvements
This plan is a community planning effort for the section of 4th Street from Douglas MacArthur to the northern city limit. We welcome participation and input by the community for this exciting event.
Comments & Suggestions
Let us know your suggestions and comments on 4th Street and Montano Area Improvements
Update
An Open House was held on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at the North Valley Senior Center where the public reviewed the plan progression. Another meeting will be held in the Fall 2009. The community can see different options proposed and give the City feedback. Then, the process of writing the plan and taking it through the City Council process for approval will begin.
There will be more opportunity for the community to give input as we go forward.
View the results of a survey that was performed.
In January 2009, a series of three meetings were held with business owners on 4th Street, as well as, representatives from the following neighborhoods:
- Lee Acres
- Gavilan
- Los Alamos
A survey was taken of the Los Alamos Neighborhood Association.
A number of meetings took place in 2008:
- Stakeholder Interviews
- Community Charrettes
Goals
The goals of the planning effort are to:
- Improve Visibility and Activity for Businesses
- Create Safe Pedestrian Routes to Businesses, Schools and Neighborhoods
- Preserve and Strengthen the Identity of our North Valley Community
- Produce a plan that is community driven
Values Exercise
The City hired Glatting-Jackson, a national planning firm based in Denver, to help meet the goals of the planning process. On August 12 and 13, 2008, the Consultant along with Council staff performed the following:
- walking tour of the area
- interviews with residents and public employees in the neighborhood
A community meeting was held on the evening of August 12th. Over 30 people were interviewed and approximately 36 people attended the public meeting. The community participated in values exercises that brought attention to the things people most value in this community, such as trees, ditches, and neighborhood character.
Charrette
On September 30, October 1, and October 2 of 2008, the City of Albuquerque and Glatting-Jackson invite you to help design the future of the 4th Street and Montano area. This 3 day event is known as a charrette. A charrette is an intensive planning session where citizens, designers and others collaborate on a vision for development. It provides a forum for ideas and offers the unique advantage of giving immediate feedback to the designers. More importantly, it allows everyone who participates to be a mutual author of the plan.
Charrette Benefits
There are many benefits to performing charettes as part of the planning process:
- Goals accomplished through brainstorming and design activity
- Vested interest by stake-holders in the ultimate vision
- Collaborative process is time and cost efficient.
Glatting-Jackson will give a presentation on November 13, 2008 of what the community created during the charrette process.
Final Steps
A local firm, Sites Southwest, will take the plan through the public process of the Planning Commission and the City Council for adoption.
For more information, please call Debbie Stover at 768-3114, Andrew Garcia at 768-3188, or Kelly Sanchez-Pare at 768-3159, at City Council Services.
The term "charrette" is derived from the French word for "little cart." In Paris during the 19th century, professors at the Ecole de Beaux Arts circulated with little carts to collect final drawings from their students. Students would jump on the "charrette" to put finishing touches on their presentation minutes before the deadline.