Helen Marshall beat me to the punch on this one. As usual Helen is spot on.
This from Helen Marshall:
While closing these streets to railroad crossings may be a good idea, the only reason the city is doing it is a quid pro quo for the “air rights” needed to build the stadium over the UP line below.
Total cost is said to be $1.67 million (let’s see if that holds). Add that to the cost of the stadium
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_28102628/two-central-el-paso-railroad-crossings-to-close-starting-Monday
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
They failed to quantify “completion expected date”… is that relative to ballpark (or Fountains of Farrah) completion expected date or San Jacinto Plaza, Montwood, Country Club Road, etc. completion expected date?
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The closed crossings were part of the package the City negotiated with Union Pacific but the ballpark is not the only reason for these closings. The Five Points Business Association has lobbied for some crossing closings and a quiet zone in Five Points for over 10 years — back when tearing down City Hall was just a gleam in Beto O’Rourke’s eye. Even if there had been no ballpark (dream on) the crossings in Five Points would have been closed.
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I walk through one of the intersections to be closed on a daily basis. There has already been some construction activities along the intersections where our Berlin Wall will go up. The already completed work happened after the City awarded a contract for work on the intersections, what’s up with that?
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How much difference do you really believe the closures on those two streets are going to make? Quiet zones? Trains slowing down? I don’t think so. If you still have the train passing thru the Piedras and Rosewood crossings just a few blocks away, the train isn’t going to slow down that much and it isn’t exactly going to silently whisper as it goes by. Maybe it won’t blow the horn as much, but a train is a train and it will be passing thru an area where plenty of cars and pedestrians cross and it will pass just as dangerously and loudly as a train must. If you’ve ever been in a hurry and catch that train crossing, you know it may cause an unexpected delay of about 15 or 20 minutes sometimes and with less crossing options the line of cars awaiting will get even longer. It is an interesing deal considering the area is nowhere near the ballpark, but other than the sprucing up a bit, I don’t expect much quiet or less waiting times. If residents didn’t like living there, maybe they should have been a little wiser before moving into the area. I think a lot of residents like it and are willing to keep sleeping in that same bed that they made and have been sleeping in for years.
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Oops, I meant to say the train will still have to slow down because of the busy Piedras and Rosewood crossings.
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Wait and see. I’m just sayin’ … the neighborhood wanted this. I see no reason to link it to a conspiracy.
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Conspiracy? Wasn’t me that said the “C” word. Interesting that you would read it between my lines. For one thing I don’t see the tit for tat arrangement. The railroad gave the city “air rights” and the city gave up some intersections? Seems to me the city (and taxpayers and residents) lost on both counts. Also seems like a vacuous agreement. Trains can’t muffle themselves and living near the tracks doesn’t help. Trains also have no business going too fast through residential areas where little kids play and big kids like to be daredevils. I would think an overpass a la copia style would be safer and easier for all.
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Did not mean to imply that you brought up conspiracy. It was the original posting that said the “only reason” the crossings are being closed is because of the ballpark deal. I’m only trying to point out that the Five Points crossing closings were requested by the businesses, backed up by the neighborhood and had been in the works for many years. With or without a ballpark, it is likely these crossings would have been closed. Do quiet zones work to reduce noise and train speeds? That is another question altogether.
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Next time READ the small print in the contract. Those hidden costs will get you everytime
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Nowadays, it’s almost guaranteed that the contractor is going to ask for more…usually for some upgrade, or cost overrun, or whatever…it’s gonna hit you sooner or later. In El Paso we are so lucky to have all these fuzzy math experts that like to underestimate costs when they’re proposing something, then they come back and ask for more. We also are notorious for sitting on projects for years and years before they even start and certainly the price keeps going up the longer we wait. Then, too, when the projects finally get going, we like to burn out a contractor for one reason or another, so we try another contractor, and another and then we’re so surprised that the cost went up because the previous contractor(s) did things all wrong and everybody’s pointing fingers at everybody while somebody’s project gets cut so the funds can go to the top dog project. Just look at the district 1 olympic pool thing then look over at the county’s sportspark, then back to San Jacinto, then over to….(fill in your favorite project) and the list goes on .
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