SAN ANTONIO | City and Metro Transportation Thread

[miaht82]

Finally some news on BRT...


Old depot to bus hub

By Valentino Lucio

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business...hub-859196.php

In an effort to create a West Side transportation hub, VIA Metropolitan Transit closed a deal worth nearly $5 million to purchase generations Federal Credit Union's downtown headquarters.

The deal was finalized Nov. 15 and the credit union has 24 months to relocate from the historic facility, which is a former train depot at 123 N. Medina St. Including the purchase price and renovations, VIA will invest a total of $10 million in the project.

VIA President and CEO Keith Parker said the purchase allows the public transit system to move forward on the development of a multimodal center that will be a hub for its Bus Rapid Transit system, expected to be operational by the end of 2012.

Read more....

Originally Posted by adtobias

Just came back from SFO and cable/trolleys will not work here SAT. We need fast transit like light rail in Seattle

OK. I'll let VIA know to stop their plans for streetcars.

[Keep-SA-Lame]

Great news about the multimodal center.

[sakyle04]

Generations plans to use the $4.8 million collected from the sale to relocate. Haegelin said the credit union will maintain a downtown presence for its retail branch but could lease another property for its administrative offices. Generations does own land downtown where it could build a new facility, and Haegelin said the credit union is still evaluating its options.

Now, no one would think that any great skyscraper will be built for Generations CU, but it would be great if they considered building DT. Probably would still be on the fringe, if at all, since land prices (of surface parking, etc) would probably be prohibitive.

River North, maybe?

[miaht82]

Originally Posted by sakyle04

Now, no one would think that any great skyscraper will be built for Generations CU, but it would be great if they considered building DT. Probably would still be on the fringe, if at all, since land prices (of surface parking, etc) would probably be prohibitive.

River North, maybe?

Generations owns a partial block (roughly an acre) off of N St. Marys between Elmira, Euclid and McLane. That is only a couple of blocks from Pearl and it is currently occupied by a couple of old warehouses; great infill potential, especially leading into the St. Mary's corridor.

On the other hand, if they decide to buy or lease space; Broadway Bank is moving out of 425 Soledad, if they were looking for lobby and drive-thru lanes, which would still have them looking for admin offices. For lease, Travis Park Plaza has lobby, drive-thru and around 60K sq. ft. of rentable space. Either is a decent option, but I like the Tobin Hill option. Seeing as how they have to be in their new space by the end of 2012, there will be quite a bit of new construction in that area to really build and increase the momentum for the rest of the area.

[Christianmx]

Originally Posted by texastarkus

Mexicana Airline To Suspend Flights To San Antonio
Flight 830/831 To Mexico City Affected

POSTED: Monday, August 9, 2010
UPDATED: 9:04 am CDT August 9, 2010

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's troubled Mexicana airline has announced a cutback in operations, including dropping two flights in San Antonio, saying its financial situation has "seriously deteriorated in recent days" since it filed for bankruptcy protection.

The airline's website listed 13 flights as suspended starting Monday, with two more suspended beginning Tuesday and Wednesday. Among the flights include Flight 830/831 from Mexico City to San Antonio. Other affected flights include Chicago, Montreal, Madrid, London and cities in Central and South America.

Mexico's largest air carrier suspended ticket sales Wednesday but said it would continue operating flights for travelers who already bought them. It did not say, however, how long it would continue honoring such tickets.

Mexicana filed for bankruptcy protection in Mexico and the United States on Aug. 2 while it seeks to restructure its costs. The airline has said it owes Mexican banks at least $199 million, although it hasn't revealed its total debt.

Mexicana filed for bankruptcy protection after unions rejected its demand they accept pay cuts of 41 percent for pilots and 39 percent for flight attendants, along with a 40 percent cut in employee numbers. Mexicana insists both are needed to keep the company afloat.

Labor leaders say pilots and attendants already accepted wage reductions and gave up some benefits in 2006, saving Mexicana around $48 million a year. They blame poor management for the company's financial woes.

Before the suspension of flights, Mexicana had 220 daily flights to 65 cities, almost all of them in foreign countries. It carried 11.1 million passengers last year.

The company that owns Mexicana also has two separate domestic airlines, Click and Link, which fly routes only inside Mexico and are not affected by the bankruptcy filing.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

took this flight many times I hope they reinstate it when Mexicana finishes sorting out its mess.

[miaht82]

Originally Posted by Christianmx

took this flight many times I hope they reinstate it when Mexicana finishes sorting out its mess.

It may not be Mexicana, but you might have more options soon.

from chron.com - Houston Chronicle online
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...s/7323855.html
Mexican airlines suddenly increase service to U.S.
By JENALIA MORENO
Dec. 3, 2010, 11:08PM

It didn't take long after federal authorities restored Mexico's aviation safety rating before Mexican carriers announced they would add more flights to U.S. cities.
Mexican carrier Volaris said Thursday that it will start flying from Guadalajara to Chicago beginning Dec. 13.
And Aeromexico says it will add twice-daily flights between Mexico City and San Antonio Jan. 11. Aeromexico also is increasing the number of daily flights between Mexico City and New York, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
On Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that Mexico once again complies with international safety standards after it reviewed the nation's aviation authority last month. In July, the FAA downgraded Mexico's safety rating from a Category 1 to a Category 2. There are only two categories, and fewer than two dozen countries have the Category 2 ranking, including Bangladesh, Croatia and Honduras.
Mexico's aviation authority was downgraded because it didn't have enough inspectors. Now it has hired and trained more.
The downgrade allowed carriers to continue flying between the two nations, but it kept Mexican airlines from expanding service to the United States.
Just a few weeks after the downgrade, debt-ridden airline Mexicana declared bankruptcy and ultimately ceased operations. Mexican airlines filled the gap left domestically by the loss of Mexico's largest airline.
Monterrey-based low-cost airline VivaAerobus started twice-a-week service between Houston and Monterrey in July but couldn't add more flights to the Bayou City because of the Category 2 rating, said Roberto Valdez, the carrier's commercial director. He said VivaAerobus will likely add more Houston flights soon. The airline is also considering flying to San Antonio, which was previously served by Mexicana, he said.

Read more....

[Onward]

Anyone have pics from inside the new terminal...? I know it's open now. Sadly I'm gonna have to wait till March to see it.

[usctxn]

I'll be in the new terminal in a couple of weeks flying Continental. I read somewhere they plan in the future to move the United flights in T1 to the new terminal.

Disappointing to see Terminal C being pushed later on in the future.

[Christianmx]

Originally Posted by Texan101

Anyone have pics from inside the new terminal...? I know it's open now. Sadly I'm gonna have to wait till March to see it.

I picked up a friend at the new terminal on Sunday and it looks NICE from outside. I could not take any pictures because I was driving though.

[Christianmx]

Originally Posted by miaht82

It may not be Mexicana, but you might have more options soon.

from chron.com - Houston Chronicle online
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...s/7323855.html
Mexican airlines suddenly increase service to U.S.
By JENALIA MORENO
Dec. 3, 2010, 11:08PM

That's good news!

Aeromexico has added MEX-SAT service on and off several times throughout the years. Let's see if now that Mexicana is not flying they get a grip of the route, after all I see they are going after more of Mexicana's profitable routes in the US. The title of the Houston Chronicle article is somewhat inaccurate; there is no sudden increase in service to the US, Aeromexico and Volaris are simply filling in the routes Mexicana use to fly.

[Onward]

Originally Posted by Christianmx

I picked up a friend at the new terminal on Sunday and it looks NICE from outside. I could not take any pictures because I was driving though.

Ha thanks for rubbin it in Ive seen it from the outside a few times. Last time I was in Sa was Oct, right before it was opened. Looks like I'm gonna have to fly American or Continental back home next time to check it out.

[miaht82]

We are one step closer to having a Streetcar:

http://www.sametrodaily.com/2010/12/...bran-core.html

http://www.fta.dot.gov/news/news_events_12232.html

FTA Announces $25.7 Million to Help Communities Evaluate, Select Best Local Transit Options

12-21-10
Contact: Paul Griffo
Telephone: (202)366-4064

The Federal Transit Administration today announced $25.7 million in competitively awarded grants through the Alternative Analysis grant program to help community officials in 16 states and the District of Columbia evaluate and select the best options to help place new or expanded transit systems in their communities.

“These grants will help communities explore how they can benefit from transit,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “It’s an exciting and important initial step in the planning process that helps ensure federal funding aligns with local and regional transportation priorities.”

The Alternatives Analysis grant program is the first key milestone in the FTA New Starts process – the primary source for federally funded transit projects. Conducting an “alternatives analysis” ensures that various costs and benefits, route options, and other important considerations are taken into account as part of FTA’s capital planning process, known as New Starts. The analysis is complete once a locally preferred alternative is selected and adopted as part of the affected region's long-range transportation plan.

“Careful planning is an essential first step toward making wise investments in local transportation solutions that will spur economic opportunities and jobs today while improving the quality of life for generations to come,” said FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff. “We depend on our regional and local partners to determine how transportation fits best within their communities. These funds will move these communities forward.”

New Starts has provided between $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion annually for major transit construction projects in recent years; an additional $750 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds were advanced to New Starts projects in 2009.

The 23 winning proposals were submitted by transit and other public agencies from across the country as part of a nationwide competition. Winning proposals demonstrated need by identifying a substantial transportation challenge in a particular corridor and proposing technical work that would provide cost and benefit information on the alternatives studied to address the problem. Priority was given to project sponsors coordinating transit project development with relevant public housing agencies, or with relevant energy or environmental public agencies.

The agency reviewed 67 applications from 30 states seeking a total of $73 million in funds.

The winning project proposals are listed here: http://www.fta.dot.gov/news/news_events_12233.html

[usctxn]

Flew with Continental this past week and took a few photos inside the Terminal. Loved the place, what an upgrade over the previous T2. Wasn't able to take photos of check-in, had to leave quickly.

[Keep-SA-Lame]

Rosarios? Cool!

[UrbanTrance]

Looking pretty good.

[FastFerrari82]

Thanks for all the pics!!

[FastFerrari82]

Still no sale on the light rail in SA??

[adtobias]

Although the new airport is nice. Why did they on build the same amount of gates as in the old terminal

[miaht82]

Originally Posted by adtobias

Although the new airport is nice. Why did they on build the same amount of gates as in the old terminal

Because we didn't need more gates (yet.)
With the old one, we didn't have many options for expansion, plus it was extremely outdated. If we were going to expand the old terminal (which wasn't happening anytime soon), we would've ended up having a piecemeal terminal with outdated baggage systems; then everyone would've said "why didn't we just build a new one first instead of adding on to this one?"

[Onward]

Thanks for the pics my friend! Really liking the look. Can't wait to see it for myself.