This came in from a loyal reader:
The other day I drove south on Stanton Street from Robinson to Montana. It is now one lane each way. Thanks to bike paths and the trolley, Stanton has been transformed into a congested mess. At every traffic light it took at least two, and sometimes three, cycles to get through.
This city needs more common sense and less political vision.
elpasospeak 
Think it’s bad now? Wait until the ridiculous trolleys are up and running! Oh, but they will be so good for business and attract so many tourists (because so many businesses already exist and/or are being proposed along the route, and because tourists cannot see or ride trolleys anywhere else in the whole wide world; snark, snark).
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City leaders think in terms of El Paso tourists…why? because deep down they know that we will never be a typical tourist destination. Juarez used to be the main draw but that will not happen for some time again.
http://www.judburgess.com/james-no-bond-blog/2017/12/4/peter-svarzbein-and-his-daft-trolley
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Bicycles, pedestrians, street cars, and automobiles sharing a congested area is a recipe for a perfect storm. The city recently approved more patio bars in Kern, which is going to mean more drunk pedestrians. They are also expanding the commercial area for restaurants and bars on Stanton. The problems on Stanton are just going to put more pressure on Mesa, which is already heavily congested. Wait til the costs related to accidents and lawsuits start piling up. You can thank Peter Svarzbein for this mess.
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That’s the ONLY kind of “Vision” here. POLITICAL. “How can we spend MORE, how can we WASTE more, how can WE increase TAXES”? “WE want another Arena, WE want more splash parks, WE want more bicycle lanes, WE want to FORCE taxpayers to buy more stuff for big business, WE want to waste MILLIONS more to keep up the ball park that WE FORCED taxpayers to BUY for Mountain Star Sports, the idle RICH of El Paso. WE want to force people out of their life-time homes so that WE can WASTE more taxpayer money to build more stuff for RICH people, businesses”. WE, the POLITICIANS want……………….. Their little trolley car “albatross” they have hung around the necks of TAXPAYERS. What is the purpose to JUSTIFY the WASTE of MILLIIONS$$$$?? Touristas coming from Dallas, Houston, Austin, Phoenix, Atlanta, San Diego, New York, Muleshoe, Dimebox to SEE it, ride it?? And if John Cook is elected County Judge it will all just continue to get worse. HE and his City Council LIED to US about the ball park THEY wanted to build for Mountain Star Sports, the cost an that WE would pay for it all, plus all the future add-ons. 4-5 BILLION$$$$ in DEBT and no way to pay it, EXCEPT Property “Value” INCREASES, always followed by MORE tax INCREASES. That’s politicians in El Taxo.
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In a few years the city will ditch the trolleys because they’re a waste of money. Then we’ll tear up Stanton again to put it back to normal. But that’ll take a while.
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Exactly, John G. They are not the SAN FRANCISCO trolleys, but Dallas, Austin have TRAINS that run the “Burbs”. Fast, efficient and I’m sure SELF-SUPPORTING, unlike anything in El Taxo. And you’re right about traffic. Was out tonight. MORE than an hour in bumper to bumper just from Resler to Sunland Park. The so-called “Planners”, City “Manager” couldn’t plan a kids birthday party. The city is pretty much grid-lock from City Limits to City Limits. Why can’t they do work LATE night, close streets, Interstate like in BIG cities. Las Vegas, Dallas, Houston?
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I’m pretty sure Peter Svarzbein isn’t solely responsible for the trolley debacle and tragic waste of resources in district 1. But I like to pretend he is anyway.
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True story: Svarzbien and some of his friends/donors have lived in the Fairmont building on Rim. He should intimately know how traffic works on Stanton.
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