Public meeting series begins Saturday, March 26
VIA Metropolitan Transit will host a series of public meetings to gather the community’s input on the regions’ first Advanced Rapid Transit project, part of the voter-approved Keep San Antonio Moving plan.
Voters overwhelmingly passed the Advanced Transportation District’s Proposition A in November 2020 that secured dedicated funding for transit projects and improvements, including VIA’s Keep SA Moving Plan and an Advanced Rapid Transit, or ART, network.
Keep SA Moving projects are designed to move more people faster and farther with trip options like the proposed ART North/South corridor that connects the San Antonio International Airport, along San Pedro Avenue, through Downtown and south to the Missions area.
VIA will host a series of public meetings throughout 2022 to discuss the project with the community, who will help shape the ultimate design and concept that moves forward for potential federal funding. The series of Community Conversations kicks off at 9 a.m., Saturday March 26, 2022, in the VIA Metro Center Board Room, 1021 San Pedro Ave. A second meeting this month takes place at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, March 29, at the Roosevelt Park Clubhouse, 331 Roosevelt Ave.
A virtual meeting is available online at KeepSAmoving.com for those who wish to comment but cannot attend one of the scheduled in-person meetings.
Meeting attendees can talk with VIA staff to learn more about the Keep SA Moving Plan and the proposed ART North/South corridor with information and activity stations, including a new virtual reality simulation that allows visitors to experience a ride on ART.
The transformative ART project would offer frequent, reliable service that’s convenient, comfortable, and still affordable, with high-capacity vehicles operating in their own lane outside of traffic, using signal priority for faster trips, off-board fare collection for smoother boarding, and real-time route information for easier planning.
The proposed North/South corridor earned an initial Medium-High project rating from the Federal Transit Administration in February—the second highest ranking possible. The favorable ranking means this is the first time San Antonio can be competitive for access to federal support in delivering a modern mass-transit system. Federal funding would complement local funding from the partial 1-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2020 and allocated to VIA, beginning in 2026. The current project schedule shows the ART North/South corridor opening for service in mid-2027.
For information on the Keep SA Moving plan, the ART project, and VIA’s Public Meetings, visit KeepSAmoving.com.