VIA Metropolitan Transit Company met with the city council regarding future plans involving a new streetcar line. According to Vianna Davila, "VIA must drastically change its streetcar proposal if it wants the city to help pay for the project."
In late September, VIA presented a plan to the San Antonio City Council that includes a new wireless streetcar plan along with expansion projects. Their new streetcar line would be battery operated with no overhead wires and will run east and west through downtown San Antonio. In the meeting, City Council showed its willingness to proceed with a streetcar system, but on the city's terms, with the line to run north and east.
The debate for the route is due to the way both parties plan to fund the project. To pay for an east-west route, "VIA wants to use city and county money, combined with its own bonding capacity. Local funding contributions would then help leverage federal dollars to pay for a north-south line, which VIA would hope to build a couple of years after the east-west course."
On the other hand, the city wants build a line that runs from the north and the east by using "private investment, combined with other local dollars. A bus circulator would move between the east and west transit facilities."
Keith Parker, CEO and President to VIA says that the expansion plans are "transformative and designed to change the very fabric and the way San Antonio is viewed from around the city, around the county, around the state and certainly around the world."
FULL STORY: Streetcar Visions Decidedly Different
Bus or Streetcar? Boise Ponders a 'Circulator' Through Downtown
While what exact form it will take is uncertain, the idea of a circulator running a loop through Downtown Boise is gaining support.
Atlanta's Nascent Streetcar Systems Begins Charging, Critics Pounce
After a stumbling start getting off the ground, proponents of Atlanta's new streetcar see hope in its future while others question further investment.
San Antonio Streetcar Plans at Risk
San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor is calling for a "pause" on the city's proposed streetcar. Meanwhile a charter amendment from project opponents could be headed to the ballot and a county judge has called for the project to be put on hold.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.
Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?
Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont