Residents and businesses of downtown Albuquerque have expressed frustration with a dangerous underpass that connects East Downtown to West Downtown, and the City is searching for solutions.
Area residents described the underpass at First Street and Central Avenue as a “hellish landscape," a recent KRQE report said. After they sent a letter to the City to complain, officials announced a plan to solve some of the issues.
“It’s become pretty much like an open latrine, a dumpster, a campground, a drug den, and there’s many times I’ve found needles on the ground, and it always smells horrible,” Howard Dovin, a local resident, told KRQE.
Residents didn't feel safe walking with their families in the area, so that prompted the City to paint the walls, power wash the area twice a week and add 24-hour lighting to the underpass. Music was also installed to deter people from wanting to live inside the crossing. But people in the area don’t think it has been enough.
"Having seen the solutions in the past, it's time to get past these temporary solutions and have a solution that holds a permanent solution," downtown Albuquerque resident Moises Gonzalez told KRQE.
Jennifer Esquivel, another neighborhood resident, also echoed that the City’s efforts haven't been enough.
"We know that they did the fixes in March, but what we know is that they are falling short, and they are not staying on top of it," she told KRQE.
Despite the improvements, residents have requested more police patrols and the creation of an overpass crosswalk instead of a covered underpass, KRQE reported. The City is moving toward a new crossing as part of the rail trail project and agrees with residents that a permanent solution is needed. The City also noted that it has funding for a new crossing, which is currently in the design phase, but until it is installed they will continue to use the temporary solutions.