Passenger Trains > San Antonio casts lot with gainsayers and troglodytes

Texas-based passenger rail consultant Garland Latham writes:

> Just in case y'all haven't heard the latest rail transit news from "The
> Alamo City" [tm]:
>
> 1. Julian Castro, multi-term mayor of San Antonio, recently resigned his
> position. Attempting to maintain his considerable political momentum,
> he's moved to Washington, D.C. as Obama's new HUD Secretary.
>
> 2. In one of her first official acts as Interim Mayor, Ivy Taylor -
> formerly of the City Council and an erstwhile streetcar supporter -
> announced her intention to revoke the City's share of the funding,
> redirecting the cash toward "other projects in the center city."
>
> 3. Nelson Wolff, current Bexar* County Judge (currently embroiled in a
> difficult reelection campaign), used the City's action as his excuse to
> cut ties - political and financial - with the plan.
>
> *Tex-Mex pronunciation: "bear."
>
> 4. VIA Metropolitan Transit, San Antonio's bus agency, appears
> rudderless and adrift following Monday evening's announcement. "It's an
> unsure time at an unsure agency," an unnamed source was quoted as saying.
>
> 5. The circling vultures have morphed into strafing hawks, demanding
> Tex-DOT reallocate its share of the cost for (wait for it)...additional
> nontoll [sic] lanes on existing controlled-access roadways! Helping lead
> the charge are Bexar County Judge candidate Carlton Soules,
> semi-professional toll road opponent Terri Hall, and Texas Senator Donna
> Campbell, whose middle name should be "Asphalt."
>
> City Hall recommends that everyone work together and, while holding
> hands and singing folk songs, develop a "comprehensive transportation
> plan" for the future.
>
> Of course, part of me would love to see them all horsewhipped.

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Kumbaya, y'all!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/14 09:34 by GenePoon.

The Tex-Mex pronounciation of BEXAR is "Bay-Har". Us transplants call it "Bear".

The streetcar never really had vocal advocates. And the proposed route changed --too often. And then there is the hiway issues.

TexDot is a mess. And the Gov would like to toll almost everything. US 281 money for improvements 'disappeared' a few years back, so now the 'answer' is tolls. Ans TX 130 Toll is close to bankruptcy. You can bet that the politicians, H B Zackry [a road contractor] and Cintas won't let that happen. While an 85 mph speed limit is fun, the tolls are out of sight and there is little traffic.

It's complicated, trust me as a long time resident. But TexDot and the entrenched pols have made San Antonio a thrid world city at best. I'll now crawl into my flame retardant fire suit.