SAN ANTONIO -- The City of San Antonio announced Monday that they will be pulling the plug on the VIA Streetcar project.
The VIA Streetcar plan has come to an abrupt halt with the City of San Antonio and Bexar county pulling its support for the project.
City council members, VIA and the city attorney met behind closed doors this afternoon after 27,000 petitions were turned in by Streetcar opponents who wanted to add an amendment on the November ballot to change the city charter so voters would have a say.
In a statement released by the City of San Antonio, they said:
"At this time, there is a lack of community support for the streetcar project. Therefore, Mayor Ivy R. Taylor is asking City staff to draft an ordinance for City Council consideration which withdraws the City's $32 million to the streetcar project, redirects those dollars to other development initiatives in the center city, and states that the City Council will not approve streetcars without a vote of the electorate. The Mayor plans to appoint a Charter Commission to explore transportation and other issues."
Tonight the group that helped gather the signatures, Let The People Vote, said they still want action on their petition.
"We are concerned that there is a valid legal process where it has triggered a charter amendment that they're saying they're not going to follow so we don't know what the clerk's justification for that is," said Jeff Judson, Let The People Vote spokesperson.
But the group will have to wait until August 6 to learn more about the outcome of its petition.
The city may have pulled the plug on the VIA Streetcar project, but San Antonio's new Mayor Ivy Taylor said that they don't plan to pull the plug on a new transportation proposal.
"We wish to give San Antonio residents the opportunity to provide input on a new proposal which could culminate with a community-wide vote," said Mayor Taylor.
Mayor Ivy Taylor said the city will withdraw its $32 million for the streetcar project and redirect that money to other development initiatives in the center city.
The city says it will not approve streetcars without a vote by the people.
"All the public stakeholders will work together so that we can present something to the public that has strong community support and so I'm sure that the folks at VIA will certainly be open to continued dialogue on how we can have a more comprehensive approach," Mayor Taylor said.
County Judge Nelson Wolff also announced he has directed county representatives on the VIA board to withdraw the Streetcar plan and to develop a new plan for future consideration with a public vote.
"Today's decision offers elected officials, VIA, and the public more time to discuss the merits of a robust transportation plan," Judge Nelson Wolff, Bexar County, said.
VIA CEO Jeff Arndt was at the meeting along with a spokeswoman. VIA later released a statement, saying:
VIA is aware of the action taken this afternoon by the San Antonio City Council. The VIA Board of Trustees will meet Thursday, July 31 at 3:00pm to discuss the details regarding the action taken and will not comment further until the VIA Board of Trustees have an opportunity to formally meet on this matter.
