Wanted: Balloon landing sites
Wanted: More balloon landing sites for a worldfamous event.
The City Council earlier this month approved creation of a task force whose job would include finding more balloon landing space for the city’s signature event.
Under the resolution sponsored by Councilor Don Harris, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Balloon Landing Task Force would study possible recommendations such as:
State and local economic and tax incentives for property owners to provide temporary landing fields.
Leases that grant the city the right to use parking areas on private property as landing fields.
State and local incentives or lease agreements that enable property owners to make improvements to parking areas that enable their use as a landing field.
Identifying improvements and operating changes that would be needed to use city-owned lands and facilities as landing fields.
Potential and feasibility of acquiring lands for both landing fields and other recreational uses.
Designation of city facilities as temporary landing fields during the fiesta.
Creation of the task force comes at a time when landing space for balloons flying from the Balloon Fiesta Park is at a premium, as vacant land in the north Interstate 25 corridor from Comanche and Griegos roads to Alameda Boulevard is steadily developed.
Paul Smith, executive director of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, told council members they have to cap the number of balloons at 550 because of the lack of landing sites.
“It’s always great to see the balloons launch from the field and everyone seems to enjoy that, but the thing we need to keep sight of is that every one of those balloons will need somewhere between half an acre and two acres to land, depending on the wind that day and the skill of the pilot.” Smith said.
The city has acquired land for balloon landing fields at Osuna Boulevard and Vista Del Norte Drive, but officials admit these lands are not sufficient to fully address the need for landing space.
During a speech to members of the New Mexico chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association last week, Mayor Tim Keller showed he had a sense of humor about the much-talked about, much-criticized and muchdelayed Albuquerque Rapid Transit project, also known as ART.
After the recent birth of a male Asian elephant at ABQ BioPark Zoo, residents were asked to name the newborn.
Keller relayed one of those suggestions to the luncheon audience.
“We had a new baby elephant, which is fun to celebrate at the zoo,” he said. “One suggestion was to name it ‘Art,’ because it was up and running.”
The name Thorn was selected for the elephant from about 3,000 submissions from residents. He is the fourth calf born into the multi-generational herd at the zoo.