Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

While Tucson's new downtown streetcar system enjoyed a successful debut weekend with an estimated 60,000 trips, San Antonio was busy scuttling its streetcar plans.

Click to enlarge. Image: VIA Metro Transit
These streetcar routes won't be built. Click to enlarge. Map: VIA Metro Transit
Click to enlarge. Image: VIA Metro Transit

Proponents viewed the 5.9-mile, $280 million streetcar project as an economic development tool, with a projected $1.8 billion impact on downtown. The Texas Department of Transportation and San Antonio transit agency VIA had each contributed $92 million. The city was planning to add another $32 million.

But yesterday Mayor Ivy Taylor announced that the city will "pause" the project, effectively killing plans to break ground next fall. The San Antonio Express-News reports:

“The time is right to fold VIA's plan into the city's transportation plan and move forward with a transportation initiative that works for the entire community,” Taylor said. “The city of San Antonio is asking VIA to pause the current streetcar plan and work with the city, the county and the entire community to develop a new comprehensive multimodal transportation plan."

It's not clear what the "multimodal transportation plan" will include, or even whether the streetcar funds will still go toward transit.

Streetcar opponents had been organizing to force the issue to a vote, gathering more than the 20,000 signatures needed to get the issue on the ballot. The decision to halt the streetcar seems to have emboldened a local group that wants to repurpose the streetcar money to instead expand a local highway without instituting tolls.

Former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro was one of the streetcar's biggest supporters. He was recently appointed by President Obama to head up the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: Five Simple Ways To Get Kids Biking To School

Kids aren't riding bikes like they used to — but that doesn't mean we can't get them back in the saddle.

October 10, 2025

Friday’s Easy Rider Headlines

Where do you draw the line between the new generation of fast e-bikes and motorcycles?

October 10, 2025

Parking Titan Donald Shoup’s Legacy Continues

There's a new book and a new UCLA center honor the world's foremost expert on parking, Donald Shoup, who died in February.

October 9, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Under a Highway in Birmingham Alabama

Ben Donsky of Agora Partners on City Walk BHAM in Birmingham, Alabama, a public space project that connects two sides of the city separated by a highway.

October 9, 2025

America Has a Golden Opportunity to End the ‘Highway Boondoggle’ Crisis

America's wasteful highway spending has gotten out of control — and if President Trump really wants to promote efficient government, he'll urge Congress to stop it.

October 9, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Sleep Tight

A new study links insomnia with the length of a person's commute.

October 9, 2025
See all posts