URL: http://www.abqjournal.com/riorancho/opinion/338394westoped04-13-05.htm

Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Letters to the Editor
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    West Siders Need Better Way To Town
    I WRITE TO YOU AS A CONCERNED RESIDENT of Albuquerque regarding the congested commute from the West Side to anywhere in the Albuquerque area. I generally leave my house 11/2 hours before my classes start just to make sure I arrive on time at UNM. I've often had to leave my home even earlier just so I can fight the morning traffic over Paseo del Norte.
    I wonder why the Montaño bridge hasn't been widened! Since the Montaño bridge was constructed, the West Side has become very populated and very congested, and a solution to this problem is long overdue.
    I understand that the state has many concerns about widening the Montaño bridge, including (access to) funding from the state and taking away land like the bosque. All these concerns are important, but they would also be concerns with any kind of construction.
    It always seems there is no money for big road projects, but as I drive around Albuquerque I notice more and more work on roads that don't seem to need it. All the money being used for unnecessary construction could be used to widen the bridge, which would make the roads less congested and dangerous.
    I also understand that Albuquerque is short on public land, and that widening the bridge will take away some of this public land. The safety of our residents is more important, and widening the bridge would not reduce public land very much.
    I not only speak for myself as I write this letter, but for other concerned people who live on the West Side and have to fight traffic so they can make it to work on time.
    I believe the opinions of the large West Side population of Albuquerque should be heard.
    The best decision to make in this generation is to widen the Montaño bridge, allowing more cars, as well as bikes, to cross over the Rio Grande. This solution is what we want.
    Annette Lucero
    Albuquerque
    Ravens Lost To
    La Cueva Twice
    RE: "RAVENS ARE GIANT-KILLERS" EDITORIAL
    The last paragraph reads: "Let's just say it's a good thing the Bears got into that record book before they let the Ravens onto their field."
    Well, the Ravens were on La Cueva's field just a week and a half before— on March 23— and lost. The Ravens also played (La Cueva) in the second game of the Albuquerque City Tournament, just a week or so prior to the second time they played, and lost.
    Baseball is a funny game. Things can go your way or against you on any given day. What if the game happened to have been rescheduled on the day Rio Grande played Cibola? It would have been before the record was tied but things definitely did not go Rio Grande's way that day. La Cueva probably would have beat them, three times in a row in a short period of time.
    The Ravens do have a strong program. I don't know anyone who disputes that.
    But how many shots did Rio Grande want at La Cueva before the record was tied or broken? Every other program wanted a shot, too. Most never got to take a shot at all because it wasn't in the schedule yet.
    It is hard to beat any team three times in a row in a less-than-one-month period, whether it be a strong program like Rio Grande or a program that is young and rebuilding like some of the other high school teams are doing. ...
    Why can't people just be proud of both teams for what they accomplished: La Cueva for playing some tough teams, coming from behind twice, and still breaking the record, and Rio Grande playing La Cueva tough the third time and breaking "The Streak." I say kudos to both teams!
    Pauline Roche
    Albuquerque