Border Boom Series Part 4: West Side Expansion
As part of ABC-7’s Border Boom series, Rachel Abell takes a look at the growth of El Paso’s Westside.
EL PASO, Texas – Peggy Lewis and her family have made El Paso’s westside their home for more than six years. She, her husband and two children love the peace and quiet and wide open spaces.
“For us personally, it’s the view of the mountain, we like to sit out in our swing in the backyard and watch the sun go down reflecting off the mountains, it’s just very pleasant”, Lewis said.
However those wide open spaces are becoming smaller and smaller as new housing developments, office buildings and shopping centers are popping up all over the westside.
“As long as they keep it under control and balanced I’m okay with it, I don’t want them to get too far up the mountains, I mean we love our view, but other than that it’s fine”, she said.
Between 2003 and 2006, West El Paso saw a net growth of just over 8,000 people; more than half of that growth occurred from 2005 to 2006.
Some residents said the expansion is good, other residents worry that all this growth is changing the westside for the worst. Westside residents told ABC-7 that traffic was the number one problem.
“I live at one end of Mesa and I work at the other end and it takes me 20-25 minutes just to get home!”, said one El Paso resident.
El Paso City Engineer Alan Shubert agrees with frustrated westside drivers. However, Shubert said wanting street expansion and getting it are two very different things.
“The city of El Paso doesn’t have the latitude to make changes to mesa street without TX-DOT’s approval because that is a state highway, so whether or not we could widen the roadways or would consider doing so isn’t on our plan today, but I’m not saying it shouldn’t or couldn’t be. It’s just not on our priority list”, said Shubert.
Some residents told ABC-7 it could be worse.
“It’s not that bad to me, I’ve seen worse. I used to live in Dallas”, said one El Paso resident.
Shubert said he is asking westsiders to be patient.
