VIA board approves streetcar route for San Antonio

Will streetcars help San Antonio achieve it's goal of a more vibrant and healthy downtown? Will streetcars help San Antonio achieve it's goal of a more vibrant and healthy downtown? Photo: Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News Photo: Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close VIA board approves streetcar route for San Antonio 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — Two years after the controversial move to pursue construction of a streetcar, VIA Metropolitan Transit trustees unanimously decided Tuesday where the rail system will run through downtown.

VIA trustees also voted to ask staff to come back with a phasing plan, to determine how the project will be built.

Despite continued pressure to scrap the project, the trustees opted to build a 5.9-mile, $280 million streetcar system that will cost $8.5 million a year to operate — the most extensive and expensive route under consideration. VIA only has about $210 million budgeted for the project, so the agency plans to pursue federal funds to make up the shortage, which is a minimum of $70 million.

The line would travel mainly on Broadway, St. Mary's and Navarro streets going north to south; and on Martin and Pecan and César E. Chávez Boulevard going east and west. The streetcar will also use Commerce, Buena Vista and Santa Rosa streets on a smaller east-west leg.

But the route is not set in stone. VIA has said it will consider adding Alamo Street north of downtown, as a complement to Broadway. VIA planners will also look at swapping out Santa Rosa for Flores Street. Officials hope to determine whether to make these changes by the end of the year.

Tuesday's streetcar vote, at the regular VIA board meeting, was an unusual one: only six of the 10 VIA trustees voted on the plan.

Three other trustees, including Board Chairman Henry Muñoz III, recused themselves from the vote because of potential conflicts of interest with the route. In the case of Muñoz, his company owns a building near a streetcar route that is no longer under consideration. Though he was cleared of any conflict, Muñoz decided to refrain from voting to avoid hurting the route selection process.

Trustees Katherine Thompson-Garcia and Steve Allison also recused themselves from the vote.

Trustee and vice chairman Rick Pych was not present at the meeting.

But six members out of 10 qualify as a quorum. An 11th board seat remains vacant, pending an appointment by the city.

Kyle Keahey, a consultant working with VIA on the streetcar project, has said construction will start in 2015. The system is supposed to be running by late 2017.

Read more about the streetcar route at ExpressNews.com.

vdavila@express-news.net

Twitter: @ViannaDavila