Plan Purpose & Benefits

The 2024 Bikeway & Trail Facilities Plan features an extensive system of paved multi-use trails and has greatly expanded its network on-street bikeways in recent years, including dozens of miles of bike lanes since 2020. However, it’s been close to a decade since the City took a comprehensive look at its bicycling infrastructure and the needs of people who bike.

The 2024 Plan is an opportunity to identify critical improvements and to continue to make it safer and easier for people to bike across the City of Albuquerque. The 2024 Plan specifically recommends and prioritize a series of bikeway and paved multi-use trail projects that help create a bike network that appeals to Burqueños of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.

Bicycling is both an essential element of the transportation system and a popular activity for recreation. Our temperate climate and sunshine allow for year-round bicycling opportunities. Building physical infrastructure that encourages people to take advantage of these opportunities has several benefits for Burqueños and the city as a whole.

Access to Destinations. Investing in bikeways and multi-use trails increases transportation options and can improve access to jobs and services. Over 50 percent of trips in the US are under three miles, and almost 30 percent of trips are under a mile. Bicycling is a practical mode of transportation for trips of these distances, and a wide range of people choose to make shorter trips by bike when safe and comfortable options for doing so are available.

Equity. Bicycling is an affordable mode of transportation. Many individuals and families struggle to afford the full costs of driving, which includes purchasing, maintaining, insuring, and fueling a car. A network of high-comfort bikeways and trails provides a less expensive transportation option that can connect people to transit and can serve people who are too young or too old to drive.

Health. Bicycling is healthy. Studies indicate that bicycling is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and adverse cancer outcomes.

Well-being. Bicycling on trails is a great way to experience nature, which can have a positive impact on mental health. Research has shown that spending two hours a week in nature can have tremendous benefits on health and well-being.

Climate. Riding a bike is one way to help address a changing climate. Replacing motor vehicle trips with bicycling trips in urban environments significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions and improves a city’s air quality. Bicycling is also more environmentally friendly than driving an electric vehicle, after accounting for energy sources and the materials involved in the production of the vehicle.

Safety. Choosing to bike makes streets safer by reducing the number of vehicles on the road, which can in turn reduce the number of severe injuries and fatalities resulting from crashes. Research indicates that cities with protected and separated bike lanes see fewer crashes and more people bicycling.

Fun! Interest in biking in Albuquerque has grown in recent years. Popular bike-oriented events go hand in hand with community and advocacy support to improve and expand bicycling infrastructure. For over 15 years, the City has hosted Bike to Work Day (now Bike to Wherever Day) and recently added a fall event called Bike Thru Burque. Burqueños embraced bicycling even more during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that interest appears to be continuing.

Through the Plan Update, the City of Albuquerque is committed to further increasing transportation options and making bicycling safer, more comfortable, and accessible to more people.

Through recent plans and initiatives, the City of Albuquerque, along with its community and regional partners, is making concerted efforts to expand transportation options and make conditions safer for people who bike, walk, roll, and take public transit. Key plans and initiatives are listed below.

The City is committed to Vision Zero. In 2019, Mayor Tim Keller signed an Executive Order committing the City to work toward eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2040. Albuquerque’s Vision Zero Action Plan recommends investments in connected, high-quality bicycle infrastructure to improve safety outcomes and help protect vulnerable road users.

The City’s Climate Action Plan recommends improving biking infrastructure (particularly in low-income and older neighborhoods) as a mitigation strategy to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The City’s updated Complete Streets Ordinance (O-2019-022) requires that all street improvement projects consider opportunities to enhance conditions for people walking, biking, and riding transit. A key mechanism for adding bikeways is the Complete Streets Annual Maintenance Program, which incorporates Complete Streets principles into restriping plans after roads are resurfaced.

The City’s Comprehensive Plan supports the creation of additional transportation options and connections between designated Centers across the City.

The Mid-Region Council of Governments’ (MRCOG’s) Metropolitan Transportation Plan identifies long-range regional transportation challenges and priorities, including safety, increased transportation options, and enhanced network connections.

MRCOG also maintains the Long-Range Bikeway System (LRBS), which identifies existing and proposed bikeways and trails. The 2024 Plan will assess the near-term feasibility and the proposed facility types along LRBS corridors, updating recommendations to reflect best practices in bikeway design and exploring alternatives to corridors that would require additional right-of-way or street reconstruction.

The ongoing ABQ RIDE Forward Network Plan is currently reimagining the future of local bus service in Albuquerque by exploring a bus network redesign that reconfigures bus routes and schedules. Investments in bikeways and paved multi-use trails can expand Burqueno’s access to transit.

Esperanza Bicycle Safety Education Center provides classes and programs on a variety of topics, including bicycle safety, traffic laws, bicycle maintenance, and riding skills. Esperanza accepts donations of bikes, bike parts, and other bicycle-related items from the community. The Center refurbishes donated bikes and uses them in its many programs.

Community Plan Assessments are efforts undertaken by the City’s Long Range planning staff for each of the 12 Community Planning Areas (CPAs) to recommend changes to policies, regulations, and implementation projects based on input from area stakeholders. The City is completing the Community Plan Assessments in an ongoing cycle and is collecting a range of input from area stakeholders, including desired transportation improvements such as bikeway and multi-use trail facility needs.