ABQ Walk 'n' Park

 Here is a list of Albuquerque City Ordinances that address parking, sidewalks and other issues related to walkability in Albuquerque. (See also the City's Complete Streets chapter at 6-5-6-1, et. seq .) Sidewalks No parking on a sidewalk. Ord. No. 8-5-1-1(B) No parking in the parkway between the curb and sidewalk. 8-5-1-1(N) No vegetation may block a sidewalk. 6-5-5-18(C) Property owners must keep sidewalks in good repair and free from obstructions, including snow and ice. 6-5-5-18(A) Property owners cannot obstruct pedestrians or reduce the width of a sidewalk. 6-5-5-18(E) Property owners have a duty to prune vegetation around streets and sidewalks. 6-6-1-5 Property owners are to bear the cost of installing and repairing sidewalks abutting their property, even if the sidewalk is on the other side of a wall. 6-5-5-3; 14-16-5-13(B)(9) You need a permit to do that. 6-5-5-5 No inoperable vehicle on private property more than 3 days. 8-5-2-9(A) Inoperable vehicle must be removed with...

 Here is an encapsulation of the problem in crowded neighborhoods of too many cars, inconvenient spaces and a loss of navigable sidewalks. It features a short driveway, a resident using the parkway between the curb and sidewalk for their own personal space, and garbage cans stored all week long on the sidewalk in front of a retaining wall. This complex is on Sycamore south of Silver Southeast.

 By far the most common problem, especially in Silver Hill is driveways that are too short to accommodate even the smallest of cars. Residents see that it's a "driveway" and park there -- even though they are blocking the sidewalk (or in one instance, butting out into the street perpendicular to traffic). A key problem: Landlords deny use of garages to tenants, and these short driveways are good only for getting into and out of the garages -- not for parking in front of them. Landlords promise "off-street parking" but to the detriment of the neighborhood, which loses walkable sidewalks.  These photos are from Silver Hill and west Downtown.

 Sometimes it's just a matter of trying to fit too many cars in a driveway or on a lot.

 Sometimes, despite not having a functioning or legal driveway, vehicles will be driven onto the property from a nearby driveway, over the curb or via the corner of the intersection -- and over the sidewalk. None of that is legal.

 Residents use the sidewalk to permanently store their garbage cans. This is common on blocks like Gold and Silver SE where houses have a retaining wall in front and it is cumbersome to haul the cans over or through that wall for garbage day.

 Residents use adjoining empty lots as de facto parking lots.

 Business and residential dumpsters end up blocking sidewalks. They either are situated in the wrong area, or they are not placed back in their proper spots after unloading by Solid Waste.

 Too often cars park in or across crosswalks. This is common in the Downtown-Raynolds area. Take a walk down 9th Street between Park and Coal. 

 Businesses can overflow with parking. Here's an example from a mechanic's garage that's no longer operating Downtown:

 One form of the blocking of sidewalks is overgrown bushes and trees, usually the responsibility of the property owner: