Los Ranchos 4th Street Revitalization

The Village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque’s Fourth Street Revitalization Project transformed an unkempt remnant of the original Route 66 highway to Santa Fe into an archetypal roadway aesthetic for this semi-rural village in the middle Rio Grande Valley. Agriculture and open space are celebrated in this village Mainstreet, which has been transformed into an economic and civic hub for this small municipality in Bernalillo County’s northern outskirts. The redesign incorporated a sense of the community’s unique history and culture through materials, design motifs, grasses as a nod to its agricultural fields, and a complete street approach to design. The street underwent extensive design work, including a widened brick and pigmented concrete sidewalk with landscaping, a promenade with plazas, seating areas, new lighting, custom designed street furniture, and a lane reduction that reduced the corridor to two travel lanes and a center turn lane. New custom designed bus stops, gateway signage to welcome visitors and residents, beacon controlled pedestrian crosswalks, and a new public parking lot were also part of the design work.