August 12, 2011 at 3:43 PM
"What? The center of the city is St. Mike’s?"
By Kris Swedin
Santa Fe Creates
Kris Swedin is a community activist, writer and staffs a 21-year-old calico cat.
Imagine a vibrant and innovative community stretching along St. Michael’s Drive in the center of Santa Fe. Today and tomorrow, the City requests your opinion about the latest ideas to develop the neighborhood of the future in the corridor from Cerrillos Road east to St. Francis Drive.
What? The center of the city is St. Mike’s?
Yes, the population center of Santa Fe is somewhere on the campus of Santa Fe University of Art and Design. An equal number of people live north and south, east and west of that location, according to recent census data.
Anyone who drives through this center of the city witnesses creative driving experiences all day long. Six lanes of traffic -- seven with the turn lanes popping up here and there -- dozens of hidden driveways, and cars trying to negotiate left-hand turns through the maze makes for an quite an adventure. Add in a few bicyclists and pedestrians darting across the road and there is real danger out there, as we sadly know from recent traffic accidents.
The Mayor and City Council have directed staff to present a plan that will create community connectedness and improve safety. The project has its roots in the economic development strategy the city adopted several years ago that focused on expanding creative industries – arts, culture, design, new media and film, to name a few.
A year ago the City showcased the work of seven urban designers who presented visions of what St. Michael’s Boulevard could look like in the future. Their visions included a focus on a safe and lively streetscape, pared down traffic lanes, affordable apartments and mixed use spaces to house creative enterprises.
City Councilors Rosemary Romero and Rebecca Wurzburger introduced and passed Resolution 2011-18 through the City Council in March of this year to further shape this project and move it along.
Patience and persistence is required to help shape City projects and see them through to completion. This planning process has moved forward relatively quickly. The City invested $35 million in keeping a university focused on nurturing our number two industry – arts and culture – in our community. The growing student body and graduates will need places to live, jobs, transportation and entertainment.
Could this new creative and cultural corridor become a vibrant neighborhood and not just a place to drive through after picking up groceries? You can help decide: look at the plan and answer four key questions in a short survey.
St. Michael’s Drive Overlay District Open House at Cinema Café, 1616 St. Michael’s Drive in St. Michael’s West Village Shopping Center, Friday, August 12 from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm and Saturday, August 13 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.
