I love the idea of pedestrian freeways in dense areas of town. For your plan to succeed, a government entity would have to build it (likely the city by issuing a bond) and it would cost tens of millions of dollars, would very likely look ugly, and would be too hot to use during the day for months of the year. NYC turned existing elevated rail lines into a linear park. San Antonio has done well with sinking walkways below street level instead of elevating them, and having them next to water which creates a cool microclimate in the summer.

But I do have similar dreams about access in that area. My dream is the city buys out the railroad companies and uses all the tracks for mass transit, like light rail, pedestrian greenways and such. There could be a train with stops at the bridge, the Alamodome, Essex.

Freight railroads sometimes share active ROW with transit or bikeways without having to be totally bought out, just depends on if the railroad has space to spare and is willing to enter into a ground lease with the City or transit authority or whatever. Minneapolis has a lot of bikeways along railroad ROW, and parts of DART share ROW with freight railroads, for example. I believe there's been talk in the past couple of years of using the Union Pacific spur that goes out to that quarry at I10/1604 for light rail or commuter rail. Can't remember if that was shared trackage or shared right of way, but it's a general concept that's been on the table before in SA. Personally I can think of about half a dozen places where it would be neat to run bikeways along shared railroad ROW.

I remember hearing that UP would abandon that line when the quarry shuts down. It could be useful to move people to and from the Northwest side from downtown, but too bad the Medical Center, La Cantera, Fiesta Texas, USAA, and UTSA are on the other side of I-10. Oh well, shuttles maybe.

Either way, there's great potential along that line for infill transit-oriented development along potential stations:

1. The Rim
2. Huebner (Vulcan Material site)
3. 410 & Jackson Keller (industrial land)
4. Basse Road (multiple large parcels for VMU)
5. Hildebrand (strip of industrial land and vacant commercial spaces)
6. 10 & Culebra (good chunk of industrial land and vacant commercial spaces)
7. VIA Transit Center downtown (again, an area that has a lot of industrial land, parking lots, and vacant commercial space but that is already some experiencing redevelopment).

However, the problem is that the line would end there without approaching the central business core, leaving a last mile gap that most people aren't going to walk, won't want to pay the extra amount to Uber or Lyft above the fare that they already paid to ride the train, etc. Just as Austin did, which was extend the line a bit further into the CBD from where it had previously ended, I'd suggest extending the line down Martin until ~St. Mary's with stops at:

8. Frio (for eastside and VIA Transit Center access)
9. Santa Rosa (for San Pedro Creek access)
10. St. Mary's (for Riverwalk and CBD access)

If you're a politician or bureaucrat feeling super adventurous, you could continue down Martin/3rd/Houston/Bowie with stops at:

11. 3rd & Alamo (for Alamo access)
12. Bowie & Commerce (for Convention Center and Rivercenter access)

All of those street turns should be fine with respect to turning radii.

Of course, another piece of the same puzzle was LoneStar Rail, but that went belly up.

True. And if all that development was accomplished it would provide incentive for more rail.

I want a subway for downtown proper. Two lines :runaway:

"Nearly two years after developers Harris Bay and Varga Endeavors revealed plans for Essex Modern City, an elaborate mixed-use project on a former industrial site on the East Side, the project has yet to break ground. And now we know what has caused the holdup — trains....

The developers said that while most of the permits for the project have been secured, one key thing is missing to get it underway — a quiet zone designation....

Harris said he submitted the necessary forms in April 2017 and is optimistic that the long wait may soon be over. He's hopeful that construction could start by first quarter 2019."

(with some new renderings)
https://www.bizjournals.com/sananton...tml#g/437544/1

What is that about trains? Please don't tell me they're forcing out trains in any way, be it passenger or freight.

"For the project to be viable, Harris Bay co-founder Jake Harris said, the development team must secure that (quiet zone) designation to prevent trains from routinely sounding their horns at the crossings in the area. While such a designation would benefit residents and guests of Essex Modern City, it is not easily obtained."


I wish they could force out trains. That right-of-way is very precious.

Living in that area, the trains are obnoxiously loud and I live about a mile away. I can only imagine what it is like to be right on them. I'm glad they are doing this.

Rebuilding local roads and making a "quiet zone" in which trains don't have to sound their horns at crossings (possibly by adding over/underpasses or some other technique) makes perfect sense and is forward thinking. To get rid of trains entirely so that a developer can add a new development is backward thinking and will lead to more road traffic because you're forcing either passengers or freight off the tracks and onto the road. I hope they're employing the forward-thinking option.

I grew up on the northeast side of San Antonio about 1,500 feet from a train track (as the crow flies). It was a straight part of the track with no nearby crossing, so no whistle blowing. I could occasionally hear the faint sound of the train going by on a quiet night and I loved the sound. They don't need to get rid of trains entirely... that's ridiculous. But rebuilding the infrastructure so trains pass by quietly is clearly an option that makes things better for all involved.

p.s. - The train track was there first. Deal with it, developer.

That will not happen. They will redesign the roads so it's harder to drive around the barriers, they will make streets one-way, they may even close streets entirely.

That works. There seems to be a fair amount of retail, at least in the center of this development. So closing a couple roads and making one-way streets fits in with increased pedestrian traffic. Sounds like a winner if done properly. :tup:

I'm rooting hard for this development. It would mean good things for inner-city investment if this project is successful.

These guys just keep on making plans. I sure wish ground would break.

"One of the developers of Essex Modern City, a $150 million mixed-use project in Denver Heights that’s been in the making since at least 2016, is planning another project a half-mile away on plots just west of East César E. Chávez Boulevard and South Cherry Street."

https://saheron.com/essex-modern-cit...-side-project/

Sounds promising.

Awesome!

Can't wait for them to post renderings on social media for 30 years and never actually build anything.

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This is a real interesting way to get a mixed-use development built.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/enterta...n-13738477.php


Also, their social media presence is solid.

https://www.facebook.com/essexmodern...7062?__tn__=-R

Love it!!!!