Residents contest West Loop project

Members of the West Brownsville Neighborhood Association met Saturday with Camerpm County officials to voice concerns about the proposed West Loop project.

The project, a four-lane limited access toll road, would run along the existing Union Pacific Railroad and create a new access route to the B&M International Bridge. The road would cut close to homes in West Brownsville's newly officiated historic district.

Homeowner Javier Salinas organized the meeting, but representatives from the Metropolitan Planning Organization and Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority noted that the meeting's comments would be included in a preliminary environmental impact study.

"If we don't develop infrastructure now, we're not going to benefit from the growth of Brownsville and the new interstate connecting Cameron County," said Pete Sepulveda, Jr, the coordinator for the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority, who drew on projections that the city's population would double within decades.

Those attending the meeting protested that a limited access toll road would change the nature of the neighborhood, put local wildlife at risk, create unwanted noise and pollution, and could displace residents living close to the tracks.

West Brownsville residents, such as Eugene Novogrodsky and Bill Berg, urged MPO and RMA to consider using the route for a commuter light rail, a walking and bike path, or a bird sanctuary.

Regardless of the plan for the space, the Union Pacific railroad tracks will be moved as part of the West Rail Relocation Plan, officials said.

"The public had the same reaction at the last two meetings," said Sepulveda, referring to meetings held in May at the International Technology, Education and Commerce Campus and at St. Joseph's Church. "We have to look at the social, economic and environmental justice impacts of this project. The major stakeholders that will really benefit, like UTB, weren't here today."

Some of those attending the meeting asked representatives whether their opinions and opposition would truly be taken into consideration.

Sepulveda and Mark Lund, the metropolitan planning officer for the cities of Brownsville, Los Fresnos and Rancho Viejo, responded at several points during the meeting that concerns were "being recorded."

However, they later conceded that no recording device was being used and no transcription was being taken. Sepulveda subsequently requested that those in attendance write their responses on forms provided or via email.

Toward the end of the meeting, City Commissioner Edward Camarillo spoke in opposition of the toll road.

"In the case of the border fence, the government was not giving us a real option for an alternative," Camarillo said. "In this situation, there are alternatives. This community must look at mass transit, building communities that are walkable."

Camarillo also noted that the financial burden of the road might fall on taxpayers, many of whom would rarely utilize it.

"In order to fund a toll road, it has to see a huge amount of traffic," he said. "That toll road is never going to pay for itself."

He also noted that moving the rails and replacing them with a limited access road would diminish the benefits that relocating the rails might have created, continuing to divide east and west Brownsville and creating a sheltered underpass that would be unsafe for children to cross on their own.

As only the second project since RMA's inception, Camarillo also suggested that abandoning the planned toll-road would not portray the organization as a success.

"It would look pretty bad, but I think they could avoid that if they were to look at alternatives," Camarillo said.