[sirkingwilliam]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/tra...he_future.html

The future of transportation in San Antonio could include a mix of light rail, streetcar and bus rapid transit, according to a draft plan unveiled Thursday by VIA Metropolitan Transit.

The agency is developing a long-range comprehensive plan that reaches to 2035.

VIA finished the first phase of the plan — assessing the transit needs of San Antonio — with a public meeting to present its preliminary vision of how residents and visitors could traverse the city in years to come.

The weeklong planning process began Monday with a public meeting to gather input on what types of transit should be used, where corridors should be located and how the system might be funded.

“I'm elated because I think we're very close to coming up with something actionable,” said Henry Muñoz, VIA's board chairman.

Alongside the long-term planning, VIA has continued working on a streetcar feasibility study, which is expected to be completed in November.

The draft plan includes the potential for both streetcars and light rail in a number of corridors across the city.

But it's likely that a starter streetcar system would be in the central city, with northern bounds around Mahncke Park and southern bounds in the Lavaca or King William neighborhoods. An east-west line would connect the AT&T Center to Our Lady of the Lake University.

The potential routes would need to connect neighborhoods, employment centers and cultural assets, said Tenna Florian of Lake-Flato Architects.

The line would be more than a way to move tourists through the city, she said.

“This can't just be a short line that citizens don't see any reason why they want to hop onto it,” she said. “The first line has got to be successful, where we'll have public support.”

It's clear that planners believe a successful starter line would garner public support for other projects.

Unlike light rail, streetcar lines can be built quickly. In Portland, Ore., which city transit officials often use as an example, streetcar lines were laid at about a block a week.

Also, streetcars don't require dedicated right of way, and they run with traffic.

Muñoz said Thursday that he hopes to announce a streetcar project by the end of the year.

On a list of 20 corridors, 16 are viable for streetcars, including potential lines along Commerce, Broadway, San Pedro, Fredericksburg, Austin Highway, Roosevelt and Zarzamora.

VIA President Keith Parker said the list was representative of potential corridors, included different types of transit, and would evolve as VIA gathers more public input during the next several months.

A finalized plan is expected to be completed by May. That document will add detail to the broad vision defined Thursday.

Consultants will include ridership projections and potential funding sources, said consultant Mike McAnelly, the project manager for the long-range plan. The final plan will prioritize potential projects, he said.

The draft vision presented Thursday was broad and less defined, and officials said it still could grow. As Parker takes the presentation “on the road” to neighborhood and civic groups, churches and clubs, more ideas from the public could be added, he said.

The least detailed portion of the vision — and the billion-dollar question — is how such expansion in infrastructure and technology might be funded.

The working group that dealt with finance and implementation this week was at a disadvantage because it didn't know exactly what transit technologies and corridors might come forward.

The group worked up a funding “toolbox” that includes myriad federal, state and local sources. The draft plan suggests those sources along with other possibilities such as special taxing districts, public-private partnerships and “innovative financing,” such as sponsorships, naming rights and advertising.

Even as officials discussed the potential for rail in San Antonio, Parker promised that VIA would not lose focus on its basic bus service.

“We need to make sure that as we move forward on some innovative technologies, that we don't forget about the people who got us here.”

Also posted at Movementfor.