More than a decade of dust on city’s El Paseo plan

I live near El Paseo, and have always had a soft spot for it.

I spend a lot of time shopping and commuting there, and don’t consider it blighted or dangerous. But it has seen better days.

City officials recognized that the area was in decline in 2009, when Las Cruces was one of four communities in the nation to be awarded a $2 million federal grant to help revitalize a specific area of the city. They chose the El Paseo corridor, running from University Avenue into downtown.

As part of the federal grant, the city was able to tap into the expertise of those who had successfully led revitalization efforts in other states. They were able to conduct a thorough evaluation of the corridor, speak to both residents and business owners, and identify improvements that would make the area more attractive and accessible.

Sharon Thomas, who was mayor pro tem at the time, said university students from Arizona came to help. They walked the neighborhoods to document the barriers to access that needed to be addressed. They held elaborate public meetings with artists on hand ready to transfer ideas into conceptual drawings.

When they were done, they had a wonderful plan envisioning a revitalized neighborhood with thriving businesses, affordable housing, attractive landscaping and easy access for pedestrians and cyclists.

What they didn’t have was a way to actually do any of those things. Mayor Ken Miyagishima explained at a recent City Council work session that the federal money was for planning and design purposes only.

Even though the area was in decline in 2009, there were foundations to build from. K-Mart and Pro’s Ranch Market provided retail anchors on boths sides of the street. Now, one is a church and the other is a fitness center.

At least they’re not empty, like the old Payless Shoes store, the former E2 restaurant and most of the stores in the strip mall next to the fitness center

The city is not responsible for changing buying habits that have led to the closure of bricks and mortar stores throughout the country.

But the city is responsible for neglecting El Paseo once the plan was finished, and devoting all of its attention and resources to the downtown area instead.

This was a classic example of government pouring time and resources into a plan that then gets put on a shelf or filed in a cabinet somewhere, collecting dust.

Now, city officials are ready to take another crack at El Paseo. And they’ve apparently decided that what is needed is a trolley. Or, to be more precise, an electric bus that is designed to look like a trolley.

It would be free for riders, and would have stops every 15 minutes, explained David Armijo of the South Central Regional Transit District.

That would allow riders to hop from one spot to another without needing their cars, which works real well for a nightclub district. But not as well for auto parts stores and fast food.

It’s more likely that the trolley’s main function would be to get NMSU students to the downtown bars and then back to campus without endangering the public, which may be a worthy goal. But it’s not going to help El Paseo as much as simply providing shade for all the bus stops would.

It will take something like the tax increment development district now in place downtown to bring the needed revenue for investment in El Paseo.

If they ever do come up with the money, there’s a dusty plan in somebody’s filing cabinet that would be a great place to start.

Walter Rubel can be reached at waltrubel@gmail.com