The past several weeks have been busy for anyone following the redevelopment of downtown San Antonio. Last week city council gave the go-ahead to help fund planning and implementation of a downtown streetcar system that would criss-cross downtown. After much negotiations and route wrangling it looks like we’ll have a North/East line that starts at the Pearl Brewery and runs through downtown and Hemisfair Park to the Thompson Transit Center on the eastside of downtown. Couple that with both The Mosaic and 1800 Broadway breaking ground and starting construction and you have a downtown going through some significant changes. With all this new development coming we need to make sure to take advantages of all the opportunities.
Read more…
San Antonio’s potential foray into rail-based transportation seems to be getting a lot of play lately, and for good reason. VIA is floating a number of proposals to both the city and the county to help fund a rail project with the most likely candidate being streetcars in the downtown area. While the county seems to be committing up to $55 million for almost any plan mentioned, the city is being a little more cautious on its commitment of funds, to the point of having city staff analyze the various proposals. Now it appears Mayor Castro and the city have a desire to move forward with a plan, albeit it different than what the county agreed on with VIA. The interesting part is that the city’s new plan is somewhat of a hybrid of what VIA had originally proposed after a period of studies and planning. So what plan are we committing to in San Antonio? Where’s the darn thing going to run?
Read more…
Yesterday about 15,000 people came down for the city’s first ever SiClovia, a four hour bike, jog, walk, skateboard, Zumba, you name it time when folks just enjoyed a good time “playing in the street.” The event was sponsored by the Mayor’s Fitness Council and was designed to get people out and about Sunday. Everyone I saw had come out to participate but started the day wondering who else would show up. We were all pleasantly surprised and had a great day on Broadway. The next big question is when’s the next one and will it be on Broadway again? The answer to the first is yes and I kind of think the answer to the second will probably be yes. You see, Broadway is starting to become the city’s big fixer-upper for transforming the urban core so it makes sense to continue the project on Broadway next time.
Read more…
Today was a pretty cool day. One of those days where there’s really no agenda or plan, just kicking back with a friend taking in what comes at you. It was a Ferris Bueller Day in my terms. In fact, short of the 1961 Ferrari 250GT Spyder California (Cameron: Less than a hundred were made. My father spent three years restoring this car. It is his love, it is his passion. Ferris: It is his fault he didn’t lock the garage.) you could say it had all the trappings. You need these kind of days. They re-energize the soul, albeit in a strange, chaotic manner. But even in the agenda-free experience things are gleaned which still connect you with the community around you, possibly even more than a planned outing. So where was my Wrigley Field, my Sears Tower, my “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte?” Read more…
Starting tomorrow night VIA Metropolitan Transit will be hosting a series of open houses to hear about and provide feedback for their SmartWaySA Long Range Plan. The plan provides a roadmap through 2035 outlining VIA’s proposed changes to its bus system and the beginning of high-capacity transit options, including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Based on the draft system plan it appears that rail options will be proposed for two primary routes and a streetcar option in downtown. In the past, VIA has been open and receptive to public input and hosted several public forums. It’s a great way to get into the details on VIA’s plans to see how it might impact or improve transit in San Antonio. So what might you expect to see at these forums?
Read more…
One of the things I did to help me in my move downtown was to purchase a VIA monthly pass so I could leverage public transportation as much as possible. The pass is reasonable at $30 and allows you to jump on any VIA bus or trolley without any hassle. It makes the entire downtown area accessible and easy to traverse. That’s a great thing considering there are three trolleys that run past the building (Red, Yellow, and Purple) and Commerce/Market is a main thoroughfare in the VIA transit network. One thing I’ve noticed since I’ve started riding the buses and trolleys is that there are several things VIA really should look at to improve the system. Read more…
The past several weeks have been busy for anyone following the redevelopment of downtown San Antonio. Last week city council gave the go-ahead to help fund planning and implementation of a downtown streetcar system that would criss-cross downtown. After much negotiations and route wrangling it looks like we’ll have a North/East line that starts at the Pearl Brewery and runs through downtown and Hemisfair Park to the Thompson Transit Center on the eastside of downtown. Couple that with both The Mosaic and 1800 Broadway breaking ground and starting construction and you have a downtown going through some significant changes. With all this new development coming we need to make sure to take advantages of all the opportunities.
Recent Comments