El Paso businesses, residents bracing for more streetcar construction

It is business as usual along Stanton Street, but traffic along the busy El Paso roadway will soon be squeezed to one lane — in one direction.

In a few weeks, construction crews will start work on the next stretch of rails for the city’s street car project.

The project is being spearheaded by the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority (CRRMA). It will be a 4.8-mile looping route that will connect the Downtown area to the University of Texas at El Paso. An inner circulator loop will stay Downtown, according to the city’s “Development News.”

At a public meeting tonight, the message to residents and business owners coming from officials such as Raymond Telles, the executive director of CRRMA, was clear.

“Hey, we are going to be tearing up Stanton from Baltimore to Cliff, and then after that we are going to go from Cliff all the way down to Franklin,” Telles said.

Amanda Ozer owns the Frozert Yogurt shop on Mesa.

“I’m worried about continued traffic congestion,” Ozer said.

Ozer is bracing herself for the second round of streetcar construction that could have a negative impact on her business.

Overall, Telles described the reaction from community members and business owners in the area, which includes the Cincinnati District, as mostly positive.

“There is always going to be some upset folks when you are tearing up 4.8 miles of street in and around El Paso. The busiest areas of downtown and UTEP, you are going to have some upset folks,” Telles said.

City Rep. Peter Svarzbein is asking residents and business owners to hang in there, promising the streetcar project is worth the wait.

“Very rarely do you have a city go and reclaim their history by refurbishing the old streetcars that ran between El Paso and Juarez. And not as a sign of the past, but as a sign of the future of our community,” Rep. Svarzbein said.

A future, business owners like Ozer, are banking on.

“I’m hoping the streetcar project will bring more people from downtown, and they will get to try our product and just walk around the area. It’s one of the very few pedestrian areas in El Paso,” Ozer said.