Street Car No. 1506 back home in El Paso
Streetcar No. 1506 arrived in El Paso Monday after a long journey from Brookville, Pennsylvania, where it was refurbished along with the rest of the street cars.
District 1 Representative Peter Svarzbein was in charge of overseeing the move. He told ABC-7 it was a little hard for the workers in Brookville to let the street car go after working on it for months.
Svarzbein told ABC-7 this project is more than just streetcar running up and down the streets of our city. “Our city is bringing back to life those same street cars that ran 500 times a day between El Paso and Juarez,” Svarzbein said, “An amazing symbol of pride, showing love to ourselves, for our region, for our identity – showing love to Juarez and showing love to El Paso saying, ‘this is who we are.'”
The City of El Paso said Street Car No. 1506 is art of the fleet of streetcars which ran in El Paso until 1974.
It is the first of six vintage Presidents Conference Committee (PCC) streetcars to be refurbished and modernized as part of the $97 million El Paso Streetcar Project.
City Manager Tommy Gonzalez told ABC-7 the street car project “is going to be a big boom for downtown.” The city manager further stated, “Restoring these structures and trolleys took a lot of effort and a lot of money. It was a lot of hard work from people who were able to obtain state dollars, you know, $97 million from the state to make this happen. Gonzalez said the City only had to contribute about $5 million to the project. “It’s a great return on investment for the people of our community,” he said.
“To see that we leveraged $97 million dollars from state funds with a $4.7 million match from the City to bring back a dream to the border is amazing,” Svarzbein said. The city representative said he is now focused on what the City can do to make the most out of this opportunity. “What it comes down to is how can we make sure we leverage this for further economic development,” Svarzbein said.
Raymond Telles, with the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority, told ABC-7 the City has to receive certification before it can start operating the street cars. “They are shooting for a goal of before the end of this calendar year” for certification, Telles said.
The city has looked and studied ways to bring back the trolley multiple times.
1976
From Plan El Paso 2015 – “Downtown El Paso Agenda for Action was commissioned by the City of El Paso and submitted on September 29, 1976 by Staten/Pierce, Lacy Inc. and The Crane Design Group. The main focus of this plan was for El Paso to implement a Downtown Task Force, which would be a permanent body meeting in regular sessions. The report also focuses on pedestrian improvement plans that are key components of the Downtown El Paso Agenda. These improvements include intersection restriping, landscaping, urban walls, bus shelters, and sign ordinances. Furthermore, the report discusses a transportation program for Downtown proposing a streetcar route, a People Mover, and the completion of the Border Highway.
1981
“Feasibility Study for Reactivation of a Streetcar System,” Bernard Johnson Incorporated, Prepared for the Metropolitan Planning Organization Office and Public Transit Administration, April 1981.
From Plan El Paso 2015 – “In April 1981, the Metropolitan Planning Organization Office and the Public Transit Administration commissioned the Feasibility Study for Reactivation of a Streetcar System. It was proposed that the streetcar follow along the Del Norte Corridor. In addition, this project proposed that streetcars from the earlier times of El Paso be repaired and reused. However, not all the streetcars would be repairable. The firm recommended three cars to follow a route along the Del Norte Corridor, which is the El Paso Central Business District, and they would stop every two blocks. This report also discussed the costs of the project, including right-of-way costs, construction costs, operating costs, and maintenance costs.”
1994
“El Paso Streetcar Reactivation Project/Phase II: Advanced Planning,” Technical Memorandum No. 1: Opinion Analysis, Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., August 1994
From Plan El Paso 2015 – “In February of 1995, a Final Report commissioned by the City of El Paso and Sun Metro for the El Paso Streetcar Reactivation Project Phase II: Advanced Planning. This report highlights the improvement of mobility in Downtown El Paso, in addition to the improvement of retail and employment. The report gives specifics for vintage cars, light rail transit, monorail, automated guideway transit, and the electric trolley bus. It discusses the design of the cars, tracks, and facilities, as well as the development of a transit mall.”
1996
Rubber-tire trolley system proposed.
From Plan El Paso 2015 – “The Downtown Redevelopment Plan (November 1996) focuses on the public and private sector joining together for the revitalization of Downtown El Paso along with a cooperating community. This was a city commissioned plan prepared by the staff of several departments. This plan recommended downtown to be the focal point of El Paso creating a 24-hour environment for downtown. In addition, new housing and rehabilitated housing would serve a wide range of incomes. Furthermore, this plan highlights the need for street improvements, the improvement of traffic flow for downtown, and rubber-tire trolley system that serves all of downtown. This plan was adopted by City Council on September 24, 1996.
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