Officials for the City of Albuquerque are working on a plan to revitalize the downtown area, reported KRQE.
According to Mayor Tim Keller, many cities that are seeing lots of success have a "vibrant downtown" area. Keller things that the downtown area of Albuquerque has lots of potential.
Keller said that downtown is the core of the city, but it just isn't safe enough yet.
So how is the city going to combat safety issues?
To start, the city is planning on lowering speed limits through the area as well as increasing police presence downtown.
In addition, they sold the Rosenwald building at Fourth Street and Canal for the building of condos. City officials hope this will strengthen its relationship with citizens.
Officer Hence Williams with the Albuquerque Police Department said, "Being right downtown, being visible, having a place people can walk right up to file a police report or ask for services or assistance is just going to make us that much more effective."
Downtown patrol will relocate to the Rosenwald Building once renovations are complete. In addition, they plan on changing shifts for officers so that they are always out during peak hours for bars downtown.