Design and construct a park and ride facility at 98TH street and amole mesa in the rapidly growing southwest mesa area of albuquerque

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) awarded the City of Albuquerque's Transit Department (ABQ Ride) $1.25 million under the Federal Transit Formula Grants program (CFDA 20.507) to design and construct a park and ride facility located at 98th Street and Amole Mesa in the Southwest Mesa area of Albuquerque. The award, obligated on September 15, 2025, with a completion date of June 30, 2027, will fund all eligible expenses including environmental documentation, right-of-way acquisition, engineering and design services, and construction activities. The completed facility will include approximately 40 to 50 parking spaces, passenger amenities such as shelters and benches, driveways, landscaping and irrigation equipment, lighting, drainage infrastructure, and security and safety features including cameras, key card access, and striping for bus channeling.

The park and ride facility is designed to improve transit accessibility for the rapidly growing Southwest Mesa residential area, where approximately 90 percent of residents are minorities and 37 percent live in low-income households. By providing a visible location for transit pickups and drop-offs with adequate parking and passenger amenities, the facility will enable more residents to access ABQ Ride's fixed-route transit system, thereby supporting worker mobility and access to employment and other destinations throughout the Albuquerque metropolitan area.

Purpose

The purpose of this award is to design and construct a park and ride facility at 98TH street and amole mesa in the rapidly growing southwest mesa area of albuquerque. This primarily residential part of the city is difficult to serve with transit due to the suburban design of the subdivisions and discontinuous street network except for a few primary arterial streets like 98TH street. Therefore as supported by a feasibility study that ABQ ride conducted a park and ride facility will allow more residents to access transit. In the area of the preferred site based on the feasibility analysis about 90% of residents are minorities and 37% live in low-income households.

Activities

Funds will be used to cover all eligible expenses for environmental documentation right-of-way acquisition engineering and design and construction of the park and ride facility including all components such as shelters benches and other passenger amenities parking areas driveways landscaping and irrigation equipment lighting drainage security features such as cameras key card access and safety features such as lighting striping bus channeling etc.

Expected outcomes

The funding will help provide access to existing and future transit service for residents in the fast-growing southwest mesa area of albuquerque. By providing parking (about 40 to 50 spaces) passenger amenities and a visible location for pick-UPS and drop-offs the facility will enable and encourage more residents to make use of ABQ rides fixed-route transit system.

Intended beneficiaries

City of albuquerque and the passengers that rely on its service will benefit from continued services permitting workers to get to work and other destinations.