Trolley Construction: Residents hope it’s ‘not another San Jacinto’

Some residents along the proposed trolley route are willing to deal with the closures as long as the project moves forward efficiently.

“I just hope that they keep this project on track so that it doesn’t turn into another San Jacinto (Plaza). I’d like it to be more like the ballpark as opposed to San Jacinto. I don’t mind going through the growing pains but I’d like to know that there’s an end in sight,” said Vanessa Aguilar, an accountant who lives on Stanton Street in front of the trolley route.

A portion of Stanton Street between River and Arizona, which leads to Aguilar’s apartment, will be closed for four or six weeks starting Monday as crews begin construction work on the $97 million state-funded project. “I’m excited to see them (the streetcars) refurbished. I think they’re going to be beautiful. Of course I’m not excited about the construction and the disruption to traffic but it will be worth it I’m sure,” Aguilar said in an interview Tuesday.

The construction on the 4.8 mile route is slated to take three years and will begin on Monday with three main closures. In addition to the portion of Stanton Street, Father Rahm Avenue will be closed from Santa Fe to Kansas streets and Kansas Street will be closed from E. Main and Texas streets. All three closures could last up to six weeks. Crews will begin smoothing and flattening the street to prepare it for future track installation.

The Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority, who is overseeing the project hired Barracuda PR, a local Public Relations firm to disseminate information related to the construction route and closures. “We have weekly meetings that all stakeholders are invited to, we send regular notices about closures and progress and prior to closures, we canvass the affected areas with bilingual flyers and meet business people, etc. We also invite them to join our mail list and let them know about our weekly meetings. Anyone is welcome to sign up to our newsletter via our FB Page (el paso streetcar). We also send all notices to media on a regular basis,” wrote Barracuda owner Marina Monsisvais in an email Tuesday.

In September 2012, the El Paso City Council voted to restore the El Paso’s old streetcars for the new trolley system as opposed to purchasing replicas and this year the CRRMA awarded the construction contract to Granite Construction and RailWorks Track Systems, firms from California and New York. The old streetcars had been stored on grounds at the El Paso airport.

Aguilar, a native El Pasoan who moved back after living in New York City when she learned of the City’s efforts to revitalize downtown, said she has already changed her routine. “Already with the speed humps in front of cathedral, I’d already changed my route,” she said. The speed humps were installed at the order of City Manager Tommy Gonzalez. He said he was responding to constituent concerns but the City broke specific protocols, including conducting a traffic study the same day the humps were installed. City Rep. Larry Romero suggested the humps after hearing complaints from residents, he has said.

The humps will have to be removed for the trolley tracks.

The 27-stop route will connect downtown to Kern Place and Aguilar says it will give El Paso a more “metropolitan vibe”, especially if Council later connects it to Ciudad Juarez.

“We’re definitely going through some growing pains so I understand why people get upset and complain. It is inconvenient but there’s no other place you can go where that’s not going to happen. So it’s worth it.”