SAN ANTONIO – A day after the city pulled its support for VIA's controversial streetcar project, supporters and opponents are trying to figure out their next steps.
Officials with the Streetcar Vote Coalition are awaiting word from the city on whether the nearly 27,000 signatures on a charter amendment petition they collected are valid.
"It's very important, right now, for the trust and the respect of the process, that the city council validate the petition," said Greg Brockhouse, campaign manager for the Streetcar Vote Coalition.
The group's petition calls for a change to the city charter that would require a public vote before the city grants VIA right of way for a streetcar or light rail project. Although city staff was directed Monday to draft an ordinance requiring a public vote before the city council can approve a streetcar project, Brockhouse said the process needs to move forward.
"An ordinance can be undone," he said. "We need to make sure that we also go back and ensure that, in this entire process, the voice of the citizens is heard. That's all we're asking for."
Monday's announcement forced streetcar project supporters to press the reset button. Leaders of multiple chambers of commerce said it is imperative that the business community help develop a comprehensive transportation plan.
"VIA's streetcar proposal was the first step in the right direction," said South San Antonio Chamber of Commerce President Al Arreola Jr.. "Our members believe that it is important for us to think of a future that will create multiple transportation opportunities for our citizens in San Antonio."
Richard Perez, president and CEO of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, said the city's growing transportation needs beg for an alternative to cars. He said the push to get more people living downtown also requires viable transportation options. The chamber felt the streetcar would have played a pivotal role in the decade of downtown. Now that the project is on its last legs, Perez said continued economic development in the city's urban core depends on a robust transportation plan. He vowed to work with the city, county, and VIA to come up with a plan that can be taken to San Antonio voters.
"Let's all put our ideas on the table and come up with a vision that all of us can embrace," Perez said. "Of course, that's easier said than done."
WHAT ABOUT THE MONEY?
City leaders said Monday that the $32 million that was going to fund the city's portion of the project will be redirected to initiatives in the center city. Which initiatives receive funding is unknown, but several city council members said Tuesday that the money could be used in the redevelopment of Alamo Plaza. It could also be used to build more affordable housing downtown or for street and drainage work.
While the city has the beginnings of a plan, it is unknown what will happen to the $92 million TxDOT gave to VIA for the project.
VIA officials said the transit provider plans to keep the money and use it to fund several capital improvement projects.
But Carlton Soules, a candidate for Bexar County judge, said the money should be sent back to where it came from.
"That money needs to come back to Bexar County or back to TxDOT to use on critical road funds like 281 and 1604," said Soules.
TxDOT allocated $92 million to VIA in exchange for Bexar County funding the department's other road projects, with its share of revenue from the Advanced Transportation District,
Soules said the county and especially his November election opponent, Judge Nelson Wolff, should ask for the money back.
"What we did not hear is County Judge Nelson Wolff say, ‘I am going to request from VIA to return the $92 million back so we can go and do other projects,'" Soules said.
But Wolff said the county had no financial investment in the project, therefore it is not up to officials to decide what happens to the money.
In a statement to KSAT 12, Wolff said, "It is not up to Bexar County to determine where the funding should be redirected. The funding assembled for that plan came from the city of San Antonio, VIA, and the Texas Department of Transportation."