St. Michaels Boulevard
Transforming an aging Suburban Highway into an Urban Boulevard / Mixed Use District
Originally designed in the late 1950s as a 2-lane “bypass highway” connecting
Cerrillos Road and Old Pecos Trail, St. Michael’s Drive was widened in the mid-1970s. Today St. Michael’s Drive is one of the city’s busiest streets with 7 lanes of traffic (6 thru lanes and a center turn lane) in the 1¼ miles between St. Francis Drive and Cerrillos Road. It handles approximately 25,000-30,000 vehicles per day. The adjoining, suburban-style land development pattern includes a combination of shopping centers and older car dealerships, marked by large expanses of parking lots along the road edge and large, aging, big-box buildings setback from the road.
Envisioning a Different Future
St. Michael’s Boulevard could be the heart of a new, centrally-located district. St. Michael’s has the potential to be multi-modal with transit connections between the Santa Fe Trails bus system and a local train that extends through the heart of this district. This transformed boulevard would be lined with new office, retail and arts-related space, accompanied by enjoyable pedestrian walkways connecting new living areas of higher density, more affordable residential units for rent and ownership. Finally, St. Michael’s Boulevard could be a showcase for public art, reflecting Santa Fe’s world-renown reputation as a center for the arts.
Seven Urban Designers Asked to Envision a Future for St. Michaels Boulevard
The City of Santa Fe asked seven urban designers to create their vision of what St. Michaels Boulevard could be including the roadway design and land use designs/options for the adjoining areas.
You can see what their visions are by clicking below:
Roy Wroth, Urbanist (Image 1) (Image 2)
Wayne Lloyd and Assoc.
Spears and Assoc.
Dekker Perrich Sabatini, Architects and Planners
Urban Advantage – Steve Price
Albert Moore and Assoc.
Richard Macpherson (Plan) (Rendering)
Re-development / design scenarios might include a variety of inventive design options and possibly include all or some of the following design criteria:
- mixed-use buildings and setting,
- residential buildings – medium to high densities,
- public “congregation” areas,
- street trees or continuous row of trees,
- expanded median area for public park/walkway,
- transportation options,
- road diet (fewer traffic lanes),
- complete streets format,
- pedestrian options and amenities,
- pedestrian friendly environment,
- public art,
- bringing buildings up to the street,
- expanded sidewalk areas,
- parks,
- plazas
- Imaginative ideas of life on St Michael’s Boulevard in the twenty-first century.
….They were encouraged to let their creativity flow !
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