The city commissioned a traffic study for the ball park. The revised edition was published December 3, 2012.
The study dealt with Missouri and Santa Fe streets and not the broader traffic situation around the area. The results were published with letter grades being given for predicted level of service ranging from A (for good) to F (bad). Charts were presented for inbound (before the game) and outbound traffic delays.
We all know that delays will occur whenever an event with a lot of patrons occurs. The predicted results speak for themselves.
Inbound
The intersection of Santa Fe and Wyoming (leaving I-10 from the west) earned a grade of “F” with an anticipated delay of 202.8 seconds (the study did not specifically indicate that the number was in seconds but I believe that 202.8 minutes would be worse than an “F”).
As a point of reference the second worst intersection along Santa Fe (Santa Fe and Paisano) got a “D” with a predicted delay of 50.4. If a “D” is not good at 50.4 then a score of 202.8 is really bad. The term the report used was “excessive delay”.
Outbound
Santa Fe and Sheldon (the road just south of the civic center parking garage exit) got an incredible 433.5 with Santa Fe at Yandell (for those going west) getting a “D” at 47.4.
It gets worse
The study tried to predict what would happen if there was an event at both the baseball park and the civic center at the same time.
Incoming traffic caused four intersections to be rated “F” (Missouri at Kansas, Missouri at Oregon, Santa Fe at Wyoming, and Santa Fe at Franklin). Santa Fe at Wyoming jumped up to a delay of 467.4. Two intersections got rated “E”. Maybe some school kids should petition their schools to get “E” added to the grading system. It is obviously better than an “F”.
Outbound traffic shows five intersections rated “F” (Santa Fe at Yandell, Santa Fe at Wyoming, Santa Fe at Franklin, Santa Fe at Main, and Santa Fe at Sheldon). Sheldon takes the cake with a delay of 875.9.
Not complete
The study did not consider what base level traffic will be when the downtown cabal succeeds in revitalizing downtown and there are a lot more people down there.
Nor did it consider what would happen if there was an simultaneous event at the Plaza Theater.
There are plans that have been presented to the city where the recommendation is to place the new sports arena on top of the civic center. Yes, they suggest tearing down the civic center. Who knows what will happen then.
Spend money
The report suggests:
COEP (city of El Paso) should consider the use police [sic] or code enforcement officers for traffic control at signalized intersections, and intersections where turning movements will be numerous …
By the way, the city’s contract with the baseball team requires the city to pay for the police.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
If they didn’t bother to consider what would happen if there was an simultaneous event at the Plaza Theater, maybe it’s because the principals of Mountainstar and the city have a scheme in the works to ban any other events of game days.
Just kidding, but only partly. Mountainstar now controls hundreds of city-owned parking, spaces which will reduce parking available for other events even in city owned buildings.
Fans who regularly attended games at Cohen are going to really miss the convenient parking and the quick and easy access to the freeway.
The powers that be think the traffic delays are good because they want everyone to go to bars and toss back several drinks on top of the beers they had at the park before getting back on the road. So much for public safety.
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How’s this for a Halloween costume idea: I’m thinking about going as…..wait for it…..a miniature version of the future baseball stadium! I’ll even have a little banner hanging off of the stadium that says, “Future Baseball Stadium.” And in one of my hands, I’ll hold a cardboard sign that says, “Keep feeding me $” On second thought, I’d better nix the idea. Scaring people for an evening is one thing, but psychologically scarring them for life is just too over the top.
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The whole cost of the stadium (not just construction that is known ) – acquisition of the other buildings; operating costs of the stadium and the extra buildings – has yet to be told to the voters. PLUS, how this will all impact our taxes over the next 10 years.
These were not considered or presented at the Coup where the CC bought the demo from Mountain Star instead. But, hey, we do get hot dog jobs.
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Council did not simply buy the demo from Mountainstar. Certain council members like Niland and Ortiz in concert with city management were party to working with Mountainstar to develop the numbers and the demo, and for orchestrating the process for the coup which disenfranchised voters.
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