By Rene Thompson, Guest Writer
Sometimes it can be hellish to find one’s way around the city and sometimes it’s even harder to find one’s way around the seven campuses of CNM.
So here is a comprehensive list of, parking pass information, bus routes to and from campuses, as well as how to get a free bus pass from the school.
General Parking Passes
According to cnm.edu.
General parking passes are free and are required to park in the general free lots, so make sure you get one before trying to park your car, or parking enforcement might just ticket your vehicle without an up to date semester sticker.
Also, all vehicles have to be registered through the MyCNM website first, which is on the welcome page under transportation, and once that is done, print it out and head down to the security office.
Security office locations are at:
Main Campus: PS-North Entrance Front Desk,
Montoya Campus: TW-107
Westside Campus: MJG-100B
Students can also get paid parking passes at $43 per semester, but those usually run out fast, so get on that if that is the route you would like to go.
But be warned though that just because it is a paid lot does not mean that there will be a free spaces there (the parking craziness usually subsides after the first couple of weeks…usually).
And most importantly, make sure you know which lots are paid and which are not, because parking enforcement knows, and they will not give you any slack for not knowing which lots are which.
STUDENT BUS PASSES
According to cnm.edu.
All current students and employees can qualify for a free ABQRide bus pass sticker that gives free rides all semester long and can be picked up at these locations.
Main Campus: SSC-111
Montoya Campus: TW-207
South Valley Campus: SV-40
Westside Campus: WSII 104-H
Advanced Technology Center: South Entrance Reception Desk
BUS ROUTES
According to myabqride.com and planyourride.cabq.gov.
ABQ Ride has a great online trip planning page at planyourride.cabq. gov and click on landmarks then higher institutions for a list of CNM campuses, or type in the address. Make sure the bus you need runs during the times you need to go, as many routes end before 5 p.m.
There is also an app for I-related product users, and can be found by searching for ABQ ride app through an I-phone, I-pad, or I-touch product, which has many features to include calculating trip times, fares and
There are bus schedule updates via text message as well, where students can find out the next two busses coming on a route by texting 27433 and providing the bus route number to get a text back within seconds (standard texting rates apply).
From the Main campus to Montoya students would have to take the 50 and the 5 bus routes to get back and forth. To get from Main campus to the Workforce Training Center there are more than five possible routes that can be taken and usually arrives within an hour and a half.
For more information on these services go to myabqride.com or planyourride.cabq.gov.
BIKING ROUTES
If you live in the area it can sometimes be less complicated to ride a bike, but there can be congested zones, so here are a few streets with lighter traffic and some decent bike lanes.
Nob Hill:
Coming from the or nob hill is a hop, skip and a jump really, but Silver Avenue, Garfield Avenue, or the one ways Lead or Coal are probably your best bet to staying away from high traffic areas like Central Avenue. The one ways have bike lanes but Silver and Garfield do not. Silver and the one ways can get a bit congested too sometimes, but at least most drivers abide by the 30 and 20 mile an hour speed limits during the day.
Downtown:
Again, the one ways Lead and Coal are good routes with bike lanes, also Mountain road on the other side of Central Avenue can be better to get to University Boulevard, as well as Avenida Cesar Chavez.
For any ways that you may take, just remember to give yourself more than enough time to get there, and above all else make sure you know where your classes are before you start.
Also try not to stress over the commuter blues, because within a couple weeks you should have it down and know exactly where you need to be and when.
Good luck finding your way Suncats and good luck with classes this semester.
