Wednesday, January 07, 2004 -- "You see it's just so family oriented," said Dolores Chacon of her Chihuahuita neighborhood, it's the place where she has lived most of her life.
Wednsday night, she and about 50 other residents opposed plans for a future international terminal on Chihuahua and Montestruc streets after listening to Mayor Joe Wardy and Goodman Consultants try to convince them the terminal is what is needed.
"The need for the facility is to consolidate 12 bus companies that are scattered around downtown, including Greyhound," said Barry Goodman, President of the consulting firm doing all the initial legwork for the plans.
About half way through the community meeting Mayor Joe Wardy gave the residents his big push for the proposal by giving a bit of a threat.
"I guess we'll have to go somewhere else and your streets will continue to deteriorate," said Wardy.
Residents stressed over and over the importance of family, unity and safety by saying a terminal would bring just the opposite.
"Prostitution and crime is what you are going to bring over here, just like at the Greyhound station," said Manuel Rodriguez.
Dolores Chacon added the terminal would be another obstacle the community would have to face and overcome.
"It's gonna lose the warmth, it's gonna be artificial, it's gonna be people who are just coming in and out," said Chacon.
Others like Martin Silva of Silva's Grocery Store said they'd like to the terminal be put somewhere else, like the coliseum.
"It's seems as if they keep running the people of El Segundo Barrio out of their homes, out of their roots," said Silva.
The $9.3 million funding for the terminal would come from the Department of Transportation. Some of the requirements for the funding include building in an area where major transportation facilities are needed and to build the facility by December 31, 2004.
"We have beena accused of never investing money in South El Paso and here is an opportunity to do it," said Wardy.
© 2004 KTSM NewsChannel 9
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