Greenway Project Lacks Architect

Published January 26th, 2024 at 9:00 am, Last Updated January 26th, 2024 at 9:25 am

The head of the Village’s Interior Drain Committee told the mayor and Village Council they ought to hire an architect right away and advised them to form a task force to help see through a project to transform part of the bosque into a park-like greenway.

Doug Findley, who chairs the committee, spoke to the Governing Body at its Jan. 9 meeting, updating them on the committee’s progress. The next step, he said, was to hire a landscape architect with funding for the project that’s available to draw up a master plan for what’s been envisioned for about a 2-mile stretch of the Corrales Interior Drain that is no longer serving its original purpose.

“Help me get this thing going,” he asked the Council and Village administration.

Findley added that it has taken years to get to this point.

“Our committee has been working on this for the last four years,” he said, outlining some of what’s already been done. The big thing is that the Village last year entered into a Joint Powers Agreement with the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District. That turned over management of what covers approximately 26 acres adjacent to the Drain from South Meadlowlark Lane to Valverde Road to the Village.

Findley explained that the Corrales Interior Drain was constructed to help balance the water table and provide water from the Rio Grande to irrigators in Corrales. But changing environmental conditions over the years has rendered it obsolete.

“The purpose it was serving is defunct,” he said. But it is still used by hikers, bicyclers and equestrians for recreation, and functionally serves as a backway route to Corrales Elementary School.

According to the Village’s website, the Interior Drain Committee was formed in 2020 to identify ways the right-of-way along both sides of the channel “for safe, enjoyable, and essential public use while maintaining tranquility for adjacent residents and addressing educational aspects while implementing, and preserving environmental stewardshop of the Drain.”

Findley said the committee has come up with a plan that would do just that. It’s based on a concept he saw utilized in New York City called High Line Manhatten. There, a public former transportation corridor was converted into an urban park running through a stretch of the city.

“I thought it was a chance to do something beautiful like that in the middle of Corrales,” he said.

Findley said the banks of the Interior Drain used to be home to muskrats, frogs, herons and ducks and you could fish bluegil, bass and carp in the channel. 

“It was a beautiful nature corridor,” he said, adding he’d like to see some of that return.

Findley told the Comment last year the Interior Drain’s right-of-way could include a developed path, rest areas and ponds, as the property carries water rights. It would serve as a complement to the Corrales Preserve, with motor vehicle traffic excluded.

He told the Village Council that the committee identified the scope of work and met informally with an architect. The area has yet to be surveyed, he noted, but added that there was still money left from a $100,000 legislative appropriation that could be put toward a survey and hiring an architect. 

Findley noted that the Interior Drain Committee’s term expires in June. He suggested that the Village form a task force to see the project through to fruition, advising them to retain at least some members of the committee to ensure continuity. 

Findley told councilors he was happy to share more information with them and invited them to visit the area to see some of what the committee envisions.

“We can go kick the dirt and see what you think,” he said.

Councilors Zach Burkett and Bill Woldman agreed that the project’s next committee should have some carry over to maintain continuity.

“I love the idea; I think it’s fantastic,” Burkett said. “I think it’ll be a jewel in the Village.”

The greenway will fall under the authority of the Parks and Recreation Department. As such, Burkett suggested that the Parks and Recreation and Bicycle and Pedestrian committees have a voice in the process. Woldman added that the Tree and Equestrian committees may also have an interest in chiming in.

Councilor Stuart Murray asked about where parking would be located and how much maintenance the property would require.

Findley said he couldn’t really answer those questions until they had an architect.

“Again, this will be part of the master plan,” he said.