Texas Transit Association

Victor Calzada / El Paso Times
A view of the completed Union Plaza Transit Terminal located Downtown, which will officially open today.
El Paso officials see the new Union Plaza Transit Terminal as the first step in giving people an easier way to get in and out of Downtown.

Trolley to ease Downtown visits
‘The new transit terminal will help’
Charles K. Wilson
El Paso Times Friday, February 13, 2004

Parking spaces: 420.
Cost: $11.3 million.
Features: Visitor Information Center, Trolley Fleet, Locomotive No. 1, 9,000 square feet of retail space, sky bridge connecting terminal to convention center.

But Oscar Cazares, after waiting 15 to 20 minutes to claim a spot in the public parking lot across from City Hall, said he would like to see more spaces closer to his destination.

“The new transit terminal will help,” said Cazares, a Lower Valley resident. “But I won’t use it. They have to do more (at City Hall). Every day, it’s the same problem.”

Cazares’ desire — convenience first — may reflect the difficult task the city could have in persuading people to park in the Union Plaza Transit Terminal and catch the trolley to City Hall and around Downtown for business, shopping and dining.

Sun Metro Director Terry Scott remained optimistic the service would catch on as workers double-checked the $11.3 million, 420-space transit terminal. The grand opening of the terminal will be at 4 p.m. today, and city officials, state Rep. Joe Pickett and U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes are to attend.

“What we hope,” Scott said, “is that people will be able to come Downtown, find immediate parking, get on the trolley and go to their destination. That will cut down on (traffic) congestion.”

Trolleys are scheduled to pick up riders every 10 to 15 minutes, he said. Evening service is planned as well, Scott said. He said the transit terminal would also help reduce vehicle pollution Downtown.

“That would be nice,” Central resident Mary Helen Seibt said. “It’s very hard trying to find a parking place. We’re going to have to utilize mass transit more in the future.”

Mayor Joe Wardy said the transit terminal would not be the city’s last word on parking Downtown. The Plaza Theatre construction will close a section of Main Street behind the theater, and the City Council has asked for a review of Downtown parking meters to make sure they are not turning people away.

To start, Wardy said, the city is working on a plan to increase public parking spaces around City Hall. As to the street closure and meters, Downtown business owners have asked the city to include them in the process.

The bottom line, though, remains adding parking Downtown, Angelina Vera of Fabens said.

“There are always a lot of cars” Downtown, Vera said. She indicated she might try the new garage though she needed only five minutes to find a spot near City Hall. “They (Downtown) need more spaces.”