URL: http://www.abqjournal.com/riorancho/opinion/327751westoped03-23-05.htm

Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Letters to the Editor
.
    Thanks for Return
    Of Bus Route 94
    ON JAN. 12, I WROTE A LETTER TO CITY COUNCILOR MICHAEL CADIGAN, Mayor Martin Chávez and Debra Bazan of the Transit Department regarding changes to the bus system.
    This included the elimination of Unser Commuter No. 94, forcing us to have to transfer to the Rapid Ride at Unser/Central.
    I profusely thank Cadigan, the mayor and the powers that be for their efforts to restore the No. 94.
    Wow! The city leaders do listen. I have spoken to the other No. 94 riders and all were really happy to have their Unser Commuter back.
    Thanks to them so much, again, for improving the quality of life on the West Side.
    Chris Perez
    Albuquerque
    Appreciation Is Due for Valley
    THE ARTICLE "SCHOOL'S TEST MOVE BACKFIRES" made it sound like all the exchange students at Valley High School boycotted the No Child Left Behind test, which is not true. All three of us did take the test and tried to do well.
    Not all of us thought that Valley had no right to make us take the test. We are registered as juniors at Valley and it is a requirement that more than 95 percent of the juniors take the test. So, as members of the junior class, we felt that not taking the test could affect following classes of students.
    It was our responsibility to take the test, and honestly, the test was not something you had to study for and also it did not require us to give up free time.
    This year, Valley allowed seven exchange students to study in the school, compared to only three in the past years. Valley welcomed all of us and gave us the opportunity to participate in clubs, like Senate, National Honor Society and DECA, as well as several sports, such as cross country, volleyball, swimming, diving and track.
    We feel the article made Valley High School look bad, but how can (a school) that offers so many opportunities, including opportunities for exchange students like us, be bad?
    We appreciate the opportunities Valley gave us, the exchange students. The article was one-sided and showed only the view of one group. We thought that you should hear from students who did take the test.
    Having the chance to study in an American high school is a wonderful experience and we are glad that it is at Valley.
    Dominika Urbanski
    Nadejda Ladeishikova
    Nina Loftfield
    Exchange students at Valley High School
    Albuquerque
    Traffic Planning
    Is Short-Sighted
    WELL, THE CITY IS AT IT AGAIN.
    The Atrisco bridge is billed as a pedestrian-only facility but if the Montaño Bridge is any predictor, it will not be long until city engineering determines that the public good outweighs the interests of the residents and it will be converted to use as a roadway providing alternative access for commuters from the West Side.
    In an e-mail from Joe Valles (president of the Westside Coalition of Neighborhood Associations), he indicated to me that (the coalition) had asked the New Mexico Department of Transportation to open the bridge to vehicular traffic.
    Traffic engineering in Albuquerque seems to take a very short-sighted view by attempting to apply Band-Aid approaches to current problems, seemingly without concern for the long-term consequences of the action.
    Simultaneously, city representatives disingenuously make promises they have no intention of keeping.
    Very soon the voices will clamor, "We paid for a bridge designed to handle cars. Those selfish people at the top of Atrisco only care about their neighborhood. What about us poor, long-suffering commuters on the west, sweltering in our cars?"
    Next will come the city councilors with their bill to reverse legislation proclaiming that by opening the bridge to cars the people near Downtown will be able to access jobs on the West Side.
    Think hard before you allow to be built a bridge that will handle cars. To paraphrase "Fields of Dreams": Build it and the cars will come.
    John Sparks
    Los Ranchos de Albuquerque
    United States Has
    No State Religion
    PRESIDENT BUSH ASSURED THE MIDDLE EAST nations that the United States was not interested in imposing our democracy or our religion on anyone.
    "Our" religion? There's no such thing as "our" religion. The president of the United States apparently has just gotten by with an egregiously unconstitutional act.
    He should be censured.
    John Wymore
    Albuquerque