An overwhelming majority of Albuquerque residents who voted Nov. 8 said they want to vote on Albuquerque Rapid Transit.

A little more than three-fourths of voters (or 154,959 people) answered "for" when asked, "Are you in favor of giving voters residing in the city of Albuquerque municipal limits the chance to vote in support of or opposition to the proposed Albuquerque Rapid Transit project?"

The $119 million project is a bus lane running down the middle of Central Avenue between Louisiana and Coors boulevard. The project, which is being built by Albuquerque contractor Bradbury Stamm, extends for nine miles through the heart of the city.

Businesses and residents against ART say the project will destroy historic Route 66 and hurt businesses along the corridor. Those in support of the project point to studies that say ART will increase private development along the corridor, and improve access to jobs, residences and businesses, as well as deal with increasing pedestrian and bicycle safety issues.

Opponents of rapid transit (ART) see Tuesday's vote as a victory.

"The citizens of Albuquerque have spoken. We want to vote on this. The question now is, will City Hall listen?” said Tony Anella in a news release. Anella is a founder of Make A.R.T. Smart, an organization that has tried to halt construction of the transit line by taking the issue to court. He's also a property owner and business owner along Central Avenue.

The ballot question was an advisory question, which means legally, it doesn't obligate the city to do anything. Joanie Griffin of Griffin & Associates, the public relations firm representing the city for ART, said construction is not stopping.

The vote is the clearest message yet on how much opposition ART still faces. We asked several public relations pros who aren't advising either ART opponents or supporters how they would advise approaching the PR issues ART faces.

"I think that anytime, generally speaking, that an organization is faced with an apparent public referendum against it, it needs to find ways to build bridges," said Tom Garrity of The Garrity Group Public Relations. "Yes, organizations need to stay focused on that forward progress in terms of reaching to the end, but they also need to increase their level of sensitivity." Click here to read the full article.