This slide came from a presentation made to city council:
Notice that the VIP Event will be for dignitaries and media only.
Many dictionaries define dignitary as “a person who holds a high rank or office”, in other words the government crowd.
I guess that tells us who they think is important.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Why not have confetti cannons and giveaways at a project most of us consider to be a waste of money? Mayor Margo can just issue more COs or raise taxes again. Yes, the cost of these are chump change, but the optics speak volumes about the disregard our city leadership has for the folks who just had their taxes raised. Party, party, party on other folks’ money.
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The POLITICIANS only want OUR vote. Otherwise THEY don’t want to HEAR US, SEE US. And THEY definitely don’t want “Us stupid, ignorant peons”, giving “IMPORTANT people” a “Bad impression” of El Taxo. With Margo, City Council, Commissioners, the IMPORTANT people, it’s just “Give us YOUR money to blow off and then go away”.
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Will this be part of the $2.5 million annual “operating costs” for The Trolley? Anyone know how much a “confetti cannon” costs, and how much confetti will be blasted around the neighborhood?
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I’m certainly not a fan of this $97 plus trolley, but we are now stuck with the damn thing. On things like this they always have a big PR news media roll out event.
Now it’s certainly another question if this damn thing generates enough actual ridership money to even cover its ‘operating expenses.’ Or, if that trolley area even generates all the ‘economic building development’ activity, plus all the new ‘economic sales income’ that’s being touted by Sun Metro, plus that area’s city rep who seems to be the current ‘media’s darling.’
Yes, there is a ‘high probability’ that many blog posters predictions will prove correct, that this trolley will be another Children’s Hospital money losing debacle.
So here’s an idea for those blog posters who are so ‘royally pissed’ over this coming trolley debacle; and have every right to be pissed, because this was a ‘back room deal’ without open public input and debate. In addition, don’t forget that many of the local media outlets have be big rah-rah-rah supporters of this thing. If this trolley thing ‘turns into shit’ suspect they will be the first ones to be publicly outraged!
There is currently an ‘initiative’ being pushed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to increase the gas tax by 5 cents per year over a 5 year period, for a total 25 cent overall increase. Go to the White House website, plus the Texas House and Senate websites, and tell your elected leaders its really a shitty idea, if that gas tax money is allowed to be transferred to transit projects like trollies and high speed bullet rail projects. Give them El Paso as ‘poster example’ of how to waste transportation dollars.
Many of the posters on Brutus’ blog are pretty damn creative in voicing their concerns’ and objections to various issues, so please consider using some of that creative energy and outrage, by letting the decision makers in Washington, DC and Austin know your feelings!
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Just a matter of time. .. but . . . there WILL be wrecks.
Wrecks with the $600,000. streetcars.
Each wreck will take the streetcar off-line for months or years and I dont know how much an auto insurance company will ACTUALLY pay to replace vehicles that cost as mush as really really rare Mercedes or Dusenburgs.
If it’s like they pay for an auto accident . .. auto insurance companies will pay book value for an old rusted, in the desert, PCC trolley.
(NOT what you spent . . Fixing it up.)
After 5 or 6 wrecks the streetcar line will have to closed so each streetcar can be properly repaired to “Restoration Quality”, maybe 1 year or 2 ?
Unlike Modern Streetcars like Tucson has, they can just ORDER ONE from the manufacturer and get parts if needed.
A few years ago, 8 cities had streetcars and now its like 40 cities.
New York is tossing the idea around to have streetcars on the STREET, like they do in Japan. Tracks everywhere and you have to take a trolley-streetcar instead of a Taxi.
Oklahoma City will have streetcars again, . . . in the next few days.
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I pray these “Dignitaries” ride the Trolley often.
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Once again, the taxpayers are footing the bill for something to benefit politicians, bureaucrats, and a select few.
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How many of Billy Abraham’s properties does the street car line pass by?
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If the streetcar goes around downtown, it goes by Billy’s property. He owns buildings all over the place. Hopefully he won’t own them much longer.
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Ok boys and girls. Here’s the punchline. The total trolley route is 4.7 miles. It travels at an average speed of 10mph. It stops constantly. It is not a logical transportation choice for most travelers that actually want to get from point A to B. The person that owns the most properties along the trolley route is Beto O’Rourke. There will be pandemonium on Stanton street because there are a lot of old white people that don’t handle change well driving on that street. I’m 65 years old and I’m the youngest guy in the neighborhood. They call me “the kid”.
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So what properties on the trolley route do you assert O’Rourke owns?
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He owns an apartment building at Stanton and Rim. It should be easy to find the others from the county tax records.
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If Busch made the claim, he should be the one to do the research to back up his statement.
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Thank you…there are too many sweeping statements made by some of those posting here, without any connected evidence.
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Some of what you say is correct, but you are exaggerating Beto’s real estate holdings on the trolley line. There are companies that hold multiple commercial properties along the line and Beto is not one of them.
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Why not invite the Stanton Street businesspeople who’ve been fucked over by the city for the last year?
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