Quote:
Originally Posted by coddat
My problem with any proposal, that is not a starter line one, is that the NE side is always neglected. The NE side was not included in the 2000 proposal, and if it's not included in this one, if it is promoted as a full system, then I can't with conscience approve a light rail for San Antonio.
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This sort of thinking is really problematic for the creation of good civic amenities. It's awfully myopic when people only support proposals that are immediately beneficial to their neighborhood ("I'll only support a park if it's in MY neighborhood). Light-rail/mass tran can't really be intergrated into suburban living arrangements, and we shouldn't extend much effort and money trying to do so.
If people from the NE side (or most any far-flung suburban area) want urbanism, there's plenty of great neighborhoods in SA where they can find it.
Further, most people understand that if riders have to get in their cars to get to the sites (a la "park-and-ride" systems), they won't use mass tran in numbers that are required to make the system feasible.
We should focus on mass tran in SA's urban neighborhoods within 5-7 miles of downtown (and maybe try and get a line out to the Medical Center, because of the number of jobs concentrated in that area), with the knowledge that mass tran will only really work in areas where high-density development can occur (and where the market will support that development).