Councilor proposes moving BMX track

A B-M-X TRACK IN ALBUQUERQUE HAS DRAWN A LOT OF COMPLAINTS FROM NEIGHBORS ABOUT NOISE AND TRAFFIC NOW A CITY COUNCILOR SAYS IT S TIME TO MOVE THE ENTIRE FACILITY SOMEWHERE ELSE JEFF MAHER IS LIVE NEAR UNIVERSITY AND AVENIDA CESAR CHAVEZ TO EXPLAIN JEFF THE DUKE CITY B- M-X TRACK HAS BEEN HERE FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS -- BUT CITY COUNCILOR ISAAC BENTON SAYS IT NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUILT HERE AT ALL AND SAYS THE WHOLE PLACE SHOULD BE MOVED TO WHERE IT WAS ORIGINALLY SUPPOSED TO BE -- FAR FROM THE NEIGHBORS WHO LIVE RIGHT ACROSS THE WAY and they re off THESE ARE THE SOUNDS -- THAT A LOT OF NEIGHBORS LIVING NEAR THE DUKE CITY B-M-X TRACK COULD DO WITHOUT AND IT S NOT JUST THE NOISE -- SAM BALDONADO SAYS HE DOES NOT WASH HIS CARS ANYMORE HE SAYS THERE S NO REASON TO BECAUSE OF ALL THE DIRT THAT BLOWS OVER FROM THE TRACK they have a huge pile of dirt there in the middle that every time the wind breaks out all that dirt lands over here on our porch in our living room our cars CITY COUNCILOR ISAAC BENTON SAYS THE TRACK WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE SO CLOSE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD HE SHOWED US THE CITY S ORIGINAL PLANS -- WHERE THE TRACK WAS GOING TO BE BUILT CLOSER TO ISOTOPES PARK HIS PROPOSAL CUTS ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO THE TRACK -- AND AT THE VERY MOST WOULD MOVE IT TO ITS ORIGINAL PROPOSED LOCATION theoretically it could be moved certainly wouldn t be an easy solution but when the city failed to follow its own approved plan maybe we ought to be looking at that MANY PARENTS WE TALKED TO SAY IT S A BAD IDEA I think with the state of the economy right now not just the city the state and federal you know the efficiency of spending the money on this is just not there AND ORGANIZERS OF THE TRACK SAY THEY VE DONE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO TRY AND MAKE THE NEIGHBORS HAPPY we have sent our kids over to pick up paper and help them clean their yards of anything we ve done over there CITY OFFICIALS SAY THEY HAVE ALSO WORKED WITH THE NEIGHBORS TO TRY AND RESOLVE THE NOISE ISSUES AND THEY SAY BENTON S PROPOSAL TO MOVE THE TRACK WOULD BE VERY COSTLY TO TAXPAYERS LIVE IN SOUTHEAST ALBUQUERQUE JEFF