[chadpcarey]

Alexjon -

First, I appreciate your passion on this.

To respond to your question, zero percent of transit systems are profitable. I know you were asking it rhetorically, but it's important to remember that this sort of transit (any transit, really) will always be an expense for the city. The tricky part is deciding precisely when an idea like a streetcar becomes a worthwhile expense (in the minds of Bexar Co. & COSA elected leaders). I agree that a streetcar (or some similar mass trans.) would be fantastic for the development of an urban neighborhood north of downtown. But the cost to build & operate said trans. is not something you can simply ignore.

To chide you: it's competely false and irresponsbile to declare that "developers in SA never take a risk". You must know about the projects currently under construction: Ed Cross' "Vistana", Drake Leddy's "Vidorra", and, most importantly, Silver Ventures' Pearl Brewery. This doesn't even include our project, Phillip Allen's "Judson Candy Lofts", Dennis McDaniel's "Steelhouse Lofts", George Mauze's Broadway projects, Lifshutz & Yndo's "St. Benedicts", and whatever Ed Cross ultimately does with Villaje del Rio.

Now I don't want to condescend, but I doubt you have any idea how incredibly risky these projects are. They involve hundreds of thousands of dollars in speculative pursuit costs, and millions of dollars in equity once construction begins. And here's the thing: all the above-referenced developers are taking these massive financial risks to develop projects with virtually no record of success in SA. Oh, and these projects have the additional benefit of being 30%-150% more expensive than typical suburban development.

I hope you'll see the good things that are happening around our urban core as evidence that there are people in the development community that believe in urban development, and are willing to bet (quite literally) their fortunes that, in the end, people will support it.

One more thing: Portland's urban development was caused almost entirely by the Urban Growth Boundary, which is something we will never have in Texas (because of state law). I don't think anyone who's studied Portland would try and assign credit for Portland's success to the streetcar.

What ultimately made Portland's infill development work was thousands of people making the decision to live & work in an urban enviroment. Many San Antonians will be given the chance to make that very same choice over the next 2-3 years, and, like you, I hope they will do so.

Again, I appreciate your passion on this. This city needs more people like you for this to work!

Chad.