Volunteers help clean new open space area in Albuquerque

March 20, 2011

years of neglect turned one of albuquerque's most beautiful open spaces into a trash dump. but that changes today. eddie garcia spoke with city workers and volunteers who are working to restore the area for all to enjoy. i want to beautify the city, i really get upset when things get trashed. the route 66 open space just east of 4 hills is the newest addition to albuquerque's picturesque nature preserves. the area used to be called "little beavertown" in the 1950's after a popular tv show. but after the construction of i-40 the area fell to the wayside and over time became dilapidated and polluted. we live right next door here and we go for walks along here. for years we've had homeless people down here. chuck cremer is among a few fourhills residents rolling up their sleeves to help out. he says he's been upset to see how the area had been treated. you see pickups with loads of trash come down here and just dump it along side the creek and this is one of the few creeks running in the city. it's year round water so it'll be a real nice hiking area and a place to escape the city and enjoy the open space. the city open spaces department says the restoration process is going to take a while. got a lot to do because i don't think three hours will cover it today. when it's finished it will be open for the public to enjoy and will be patrolled regularly to keep this from ever happening again. once we get it cleaned up, it will be very nice the city paid just under 3 million dollars for the 66 acres. the project is expected to be finished by summer