No detouring now Feds should come through with ART money
A sure thing may not be a slam dunk after all, as Albuquerque city leaders are finding out.
The city had reasonable assurances that it would receive $69 million in federal funds for the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project. The first portion of funding for ART is included in the 2017 federal budget as part of the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts grant program. That budget has yet to be passed by Congress, but city officials have said money designated under the FTA’s Capital Investment New Starts program — like the ART funding — has always come through.
The project, which will turn Albuquerque’s Central Avenue into a transit corridor with nine miles of bus-only lanes and bus stations, is scheduled to be finished by the end of this year, roughly coinciding with the end of the Mayor Richard Berry administration.
Berry is the leading force behind the project, pointing to its potential for increased economic development, a true mass transit corridor through the heart of the city and a new fresh look to attract businesses and young people who want to live near where they work and play. Opponents, however, fear it will choke traffic along the corridor, deter customers from patronizing local businesses and harm the character of what was once Route 66.
Work on the project got started in the fall, with the blessing of the FTA.
But the funding designation occurred in a different world in a different time. President Donald Trump’s budget blueprint for Fiscal Year 2018 doesn’t include money earmarked by the Obama administration for the $119 million project. In fact it does away with New Starts grants. It will, however, fund projects already approved. So as long as Congress approves the 2017 budget with ART in it, it appears continued funding is safe.
But given some uncertainty, some ART opponents, notably business owners and nearby residents, are taking a “told you so” attitude and wondering if they were sold a bill of expensive goods, and whether local taxpayers will be left with the bill if the feds, via Congress, don’t come through.
The questions over funding are only adding fuel to opposition of the project, which the Journal has supported.
And it doesn’t help the city’s credibility that it has yet to roll out a loan and grant program promised to assist businesses along the Central Avenue corridor. The city has yet to even release the program’s details, which Economic Development Director Gary Oppedahl had said would be revealed by the last week of February and the money would be available March 1.
Last July, the city said it would raise $2 million for the loans; that goal has been reduced and so far it has raised something shy of $500,000.
Everyone knew construction would cause problems for businesses along Central due to traffic delays — but in some cases, reality has proven even worse than anticipated. Longtime shops and restaurants say business is down significantly, and some retailers have closed their doors.
The city insists kickoff of the loan program is imminent. Let’s hope so — it appears it’s already too late for some. And the longer the delay, the greater the perception that the city isn’t keeping its promises.
As for the federal funding, Berry seems confident. “There’s no indication at this point that we’d be the first city in history not to get funding after getting to this point,” he said.
In July, City Attorney Jessica Hernandez said the city received a “Letter of No Prejudice” from the federal government. That allowed the city to immediately spend up to $59 million that is eligible for FTA reimbursement.
In November, the city’s chief operating officer, Michael Riordan, told city councilors it’s standard practice for cities to begin construction once a project wins a federal recommendation, an environmental clearance and approval to start work. And a consultant who’s worked on Small Starts and similar projects for years agreed, telling the Journal that any concerns otherwise are “completely unfounded.”
Regardless of whether you agree with ART, the decision to build it was made more than a year ago in a bipartisan vote of the City Council. And in the arcane workings of the federal government, there was no reason for the city to think the federal funding would not be forthcoming.
Now, it’s up to Congress — and New Mexico’s congressional delegation — to make sure that happens.