“We are now on the precipice of finally bringing mass transit to San Antonio, which is a paradigm shift if there has ever been one,” Nirenberg said at a City Council meeting last week, where an interlocal agreement affirming the voter-approved sales tax revenue would be used for ART was approved. More recently a light rail proposal was rejected by voters in 2000, and VIA’s 2011 street car plan fell apart. San Antonio has sought unsuccessfully to create a mass transit system for decades, said Cisneros, who pointed to early transit advocates on City Council before he was mayor in the 1980s. Credit: Courtesy / VIA Metropolitan Transit Unusual funding structure A rendering shows what the Rapid Green Line bus will look like. They couldn’t work from home,” Arndt said.Įventually, the two ART lines are expected to connect to other rapid transit bus lines throughout the city. “We found during the pandemic that something like half of the riders of buses were people who had no car, work for wages below the minimum wage, and had to be at work. Local leaders hope it also will serve as a commuter line for residents. The route is expected to be completed months before the opening of San Antonio International Airport’s new terminal. Buses would arrive every 10 minutes on weekdays, and every 15 minutes on weekends, according to VIA. The projected ride time from from the airport to Brooks City Base is approximately 45 minutes. Plans for the Green Line show 26 stops, spaced roughly a third of a mile apart. Dedicated lanes on San PedroĪRT’s North-South route will run primarily on its own dedicated lanes, helping it keep a consistent schedule and move quickly even in heavy traffic. It will apply for federal funding later this summer, VIA President and CEO Jeff Arndt said Wednesday. VIA plans to construct an East-West line, but doesn’t have the funding solidified yet. It was expected to provide roughly $38 million per year beginning in 2026 but will likely exceed $45 million per year. The projected sales tax revenue has also increased since plans were first approved. The North-South line is expected to cost $388 million, up from the $320 million estimated in 2021, due to rising construction costs, according to VIA. “Now all of that has happened, and we’re going to take advantage.” … We didn’t have congressionally appropriated funds, the infrastructure law was a pipe dream,” Nirenberg recalled of the project’s early outlook in an interview Tuesday. “It was such a long-term, uncertain revenue forecast. In between those accomplishments, the federal government approved a $1 trillion infrastructure law at the end of 2021, and San Antonio’s ART plan received $158 million in the president’s fiscal year 2023 budget. Mayor Ron Nirenberg, former Mayor Henry Cisneros and other proponents of the project celebrated the string of local and federal commitments that have aligned, starting with one-eighth-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2020 and ending with an agreement last week between the city and county for how the money will be spent. Passengers are shown waiting at a covered bus stop in the median between northbound and southbound traffic lanes, accessed by crosswalk. It was a joy to watch not just our grand kids, but others as well enjoy the old fashioned summer pleasure of swimming in the "river" even though it's cement lined with no mud to be found, darn it.A video graphic on the project’s new website shows a green bus zipping past cars on San Pedro Avenue, bypassing traffic lights in its red protected lanes. It's clean, well kept and has LOTS of room for everyone. The depth starts at just a few feet at the sides and slowly deepens to about 4 to 5 feet in the center. It's surrounded by majestic towering ancient trees with lots of shade on the wide soft grass. The pool is very long from end to end, about 200 yards, it's as wide as many pools are long, and the water temperature was cool but not cold. The cost is nominal, the facilities old fashioned but functional, and the ambiance was so-o-o-o relaxing. After a hot day roaming the Alamo, Riverwalk, and other sites we came to this oasis in the desert expecting a normal outdoor pool and found Nirvana! When we travel "roughing it" in the RV we find public swimming pools to relax, cool down, and clean up at.
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