San Antonio streetcar cancelled, new transpo.plan instead?

[beautifulplanet]

Pre-scriptum: In case there already is a thread on San Antonio streetcar, please move or delete.

Some might think, San Antonio had a weird timing: Just a few days after less than 1,000 miles west, in fellow southern city Tucson a new streetcar system opened, the City of San Antonio and Bexar county pulled its support for the streetcar project. It's already more than 2 weeks ago, on July 28, that the following statements by two key persons were made:

San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor [...] said that the streetcar, and any rail plan, should not proceed without a public vote, and she pushed for the creation of a city charter commission to explore transportation and other issues.

“The current proposal is very unpopular,” Taylor said. “We certainly believe there needs to be community consensus on a comprehensive multimodal transportation plan.”

In a stunning reversal, County Judge Nelson Wolff said he would ask Bexar County's appointees on the VIA board to withdraw their support for streetcar, a plan several years in the making. Wolff said officials simply were unable “to gain sufficient public support” for the rail project.

“You win some, you lose some,” Wolff said. “We've lost this one.”

Taylor and Wolff, who has been the chief advocate for the streetcar, spoke at a joint news conference Monday afternoon after the City Council met in executive session to discuss a petition drive to put streetcar on the November ballot.

[...]

The transit agency is already in the queue for federal funding of it, and if it stops work on the streetcar, the source said, the federal government will put VIA at the back of the line for all future funding.

Currently, VIA has funding to build part of the 5.9-mile downtown system. Most of the money would come from VIA and the Texas Department of Transportation — both put in $92 million each — and the City Council had voted to give $32 million.

source:

City pulls support for downtown streetcar

July 28, 2014
By Vianna Davila, Josh Baugh

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Sources-say-streetcar-project-at-least-on-hold-5652035.php

It might seem to many like San Antonio was so close to actually turning the streetcar into a reality - federal funds would have been coming in, VIA (local transportation agency) funds, state DOT funds, local funds - and at least some might think good routes were chosen to connect several activity centers and areas with potential for development - so San Antonio could have possibly also seen $910 million in public and private investment along the route, just like Tucson did. Obviously for key decision makers that was currently not desired.

In VIA's long range transportation plan, even 2 light-rail lines are still included, but of course they are only a fraction of the comprehensive light-rail plan of the year 2000. It's only that the transportation funds that VIA has now partially come from a 2004 tax plan that excluded the use of the funds for "light rail", which is the reason a streetcar proposal was developed, as using the funds for streetcars was possible.

Another press report also takes about a possible upcoming "new plan":

County Judge Nelson Wolff also announced he has directed county representatives on the VIA board to withdraw the Streetcar plan and to develop a new plan for future consideration with a public vote.

"Today's decision offers elected officials, VIA, and the public more time to discuss the merits of a robust transportation plan," Judge Nelson Wolff, Bexar County, said.

source:

City pulls plug on VIA Streetcar project

James Muñoz, KENS 5
10:43 p.m. CDT July 28, 2014

http://www.kens5.com/story/news/local/2014/07/28/plug-pulled-via-streetcar/13291945/

At least some might be wondering now in how many decades San Antonio will finally have a local rail system and be able to reap the benefits from it, just like Tucson already is, especially since the city could have had a rail system up and running in a few years. After all, some might wish, that with having to put up with all these additional years of extra delay now, then hopefully the "new plan" Wolff talked about or the "comprehensive multimodal transportation plan" Taylor talked about at least will be featuring a comprehensive rail system like the original 2000 plan did.

For all who still would like to know how VIA's current streetcar proposal would have looked like, here is the link to the offical VIA streetcar website, as long as it's still online:
http://www.viasmartmove.com/modern-streetcar/

And here is the link for the current SmartSA 2035 Long Range Comprehensive Transportation Plan:

http://www.smartwaysa.com/ProjectDetails/FinalPlan.aspx

 

[SanAntonioClyde]

San Antonio has the original CAVE organization, Citizens Against Virtually Everything. The city's funding was only $25 million. Total projected cost around $270 million. See you on the freeway parking lots!

 

[jis]

Well, at least some other fortunate place will get to use the federal funds that San Antonio chose not to use. We in New Jersey and New York (and I am sure Amtrak too) copiously thank both Florida and Wisconsin for their most astute decision to not use the federal funds that were made available to them for the purpose designated.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Also thank Texas and Governor for Life "Tricky Rick"Perry for not taking Evil Federal Money jis!

 

[Green Maned Lion]

"I had an uncle that lives in Texas!" We are talking about Dollars! Money! "That's where he a lived, Dollaa Taxes!"

Quote speaker and movie for bonus.

 

[me_little_me]

"I had an uncle that lives in Texas!" We are talking about Dollars! Money! "That's where he a lived, Dollaa Taxes!"

Quote speaker and movie for bonus.

Chico Marx. Duck Soup.

I knew the author but forgot the movie. Loved them all.

 

[beautifulplanet]

The day after the defeat of the Austin urban rail and roads proposal on November 4, the San Antonio Express News reporter Vianna Davila - who some might think provides great coverage of transportation in the "Alamo City" - provided an update on possible future rail projects in the "Move It!" blog:

Austin’s rail proposal fails – badly

By Vianna Davila

November 5, 2014

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/moveit/2014/11/austins-rail-proposal-fails-badly/

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, once a supporter of San Antonio’s streetcar, wasn’t surprised [by the defeat of Austin's urban rail proposal]. Successful rail system, like those in Dallas and Houston, got off the ground years ago, when federal monies were easier to come by. Supporters of the Austin and San Antonio rail plans felt confident they could draw down federal funds for their respective projects, but those dollars were not guaranteed.

“The ones (rail projects) that are coming late, it’s getting harder and harder to get anything passed,” said Wolff, who celebrated a successful reelection Tuesday night. He also noted the Austin system was going to be far more expensive than San Antonio’s. The judge knows all too well the risk of supporting rail – his challenger, former San Antonio City Councilman Carlton Soules, made an entire campaign of blasting Wolff’s backing of streetcar. When Wolff backed off support, Soules campaign deflated.

Surely, the outcome Tuesday night in Austin has to have a chilling effect on rail supporters in San Antonio, many of whom didn’t necessarily like VIA Metropolitan Transit’s 5.7-mile, downtown streetcar proposal, but they DO like the idea of an extensive light rail system that connects downtown to the outer suburban areas – and they like it despite the fact that a light rail plan was definitively defeated in San Antonio in 2000.

So many might think, that after the decision makers canceled a streetcar project that already had nearly all of its funding in place and was only months away from construction, now at least they want to see that "extensive light rail system" actually being built. Seems like it won't be happening anytime soon though, as the report says it's "hard to imagine who will come out and fight for rail in the Alamo City, anytime soon":

Rail will come up again in San Antonio in May, when voters decide whether to amend the city charter so that neither streetcar nor light rail could be built here without a public vote first. Given the political complications of streetcar – and the fact that the vote will happen during a City Council election – it’s hard to imagine who will come out to fight against the charter amendment.

With Austin’s rail dreams in tatters, it’s also hard to imagine who will come out and fight for rail in the Alamo City, anytime soon.

The only rail San Antonio might possibly see soon - and only possibly that is - might be Lone Star Rail, the commuter rail project connecting San Antonio (with at least 4 stops within city limits) towards the north with New Braunfels, San Marcos and Austin and even with Georgetown:

Wolff said he won’t be calling for any other rail projects, perhaps with the exception of one – he’d like to see freight relocated off of the rail line that parallels the Interstate 35 corridor, to leave open the opportunity for commuter rail connecting Austin to San Antonio, a project known as Lone Star Rail or LSTAR. But capital and operations funding for that plan also remains elusive.

“Of course,” Wolff said, “that’s a tough one too.”

While some funding for Lone Star Rail is already being allocated, many might think that it's not a done deal. For some, it might seem like bad news that aside from aspiring no new local rail project in San Antonio anytime soon, even the implementation of regional commuter rail is being seriously put into question by judge Wolff here. So some might think, all those people in San Antonio who support rail, no matter if they already previously have been a member of a pro-rail group like Move SA Forward or not, should probably contact judge Wolff and other elected officials, organize, make their voices heard and get their message out to the general public, so that San Antonio will not remain being the nation's largest city without any passenger rail (besides the daily Amtrak trains) for a long time to come, instead being able to enjoy all the economic, environmental, city-development, quality-of-life and health-related benefits that come along with having efficient light rail and commuter rail systems.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

As with many other cities and states San Antonio is now firmly in the anti-rail camp thanks to an endless series of attacks from the talking points of hyper partisan politicians and business leaders. Mark my words: Not a single forum member alive today will live to see a light rail, heavy rail, or street car system in the city of San Antonio. That ship has long since sailed. The next ship is all about how to permanently discourage future passenger rail projects through carefully targeted changes to the city charter and state constitution.

 

[trainman74]

Hey, I know from firsthand experience that San Antonio has a train that runs around Brackenridge Park -- it counts, right?

 

[beautifulplanet]

Hey, I know from firsthand experience that San Antonio has a train that runs around Brackenridge Park -- it counts, right?

Firsthand experience, is that so? I'm happy to hear that.

I can still remember, a good friend was working close to Brackenridge Park, and visiting for lunch break, heading down Mulberry Ave for the very first time towards W D Deli I was thinking: What are those railroad tracks there? Does San Antonio have rail transit after all? Turns out, it is a 2 feet narrow gauge miniature railroad...

Being happy for all the people enjoying it, many might still be thinking, it's great to have miniature railroad in town, now the only thing missing is actual passenger rail service in order to provide fast, efficient, convenient, environmentally friendly transportation within the city and the region.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Austin has one also in Zilker Park ( site of Barton Springs Pool) and interestingly both used to be named after the MoPac Eagle, now the Texas Eagle!

Several years ago the Brackenridge Eagle derailed resulting in a a " Big" Story in the local media! ( of the " If it bleeds it leads type!)

 

[trainman74]

Firsthand experience, is that so? I'm happy to hear that.

Yes, I've taken that train -- I went to San Antonio a few years ago to see my alma mater (Northwestern) in the Alamo Bowl.

 

[City of Miami]

In Detroit a couple weeks ago I saw LRV tracks being installed on Woodward north from Campus Martius to some other nowhere. Like SATX, it was hard to see any possible benefit to the denizens of existing public transit. For the majority in their cars, certainly NOT - it'll just be in the way.

bp - have you ever been in SA? Your idealized picture sure doesn't sound like it?

 

[beautifulplanet]

Firsthand experience, is that so? I'm happy to hear that.

Yes, I've taken that train -- I went to San Antonio a few years ago to see my alma mater (Northwestern) in the Alamo Bowl.

Thank you for responding. Maybe my statement was written in a way that it could be misunderstood. It wasn't meant in a way to question the firsthand experience - it was meant like "Oh, that's cool you had the firsthand experience". For somebody who only saw the tracks on Mulberry Ave (see above), it's nice to hear that indeed there are people who actually get to enjoy this special San Antonio experience. Besides, that experiencing San Antonio in general can be a great thing. Just that some might think, now only passenger rail is still missing in that experience (so not just a miniature train, but real passenger rail that is).