Downtown Planning May Have Just Gotten More Nonsensical

Planning Director Ramiro Gonzalez

If the City of Brownsville did not have an established track record of planning projects without consulting those most effected, we could just disregard the latest rumor floating downtown.  But, the reality is that there is no flow of information, much less consultation by Mayor Tony Martinez, the city's Planning Department with regard to policies, purchases and wholesale changes in our city.

Were Brownsville taxpayers ever consulted or informed as to the purchase of 11 downtown properties for $3.5 million, including the well-overpriced Casa del Nylon for $2.3 million?  No!  To this day, neither Mayor Martinez nor the city commissioners have said one word explaining those speculative real estate transactions.  All we know is that the mayor unethically used his law partner, Horacio Barrera, to close the generous deal with his friend, Abraham Galonsky, on the Casa del Nylon purchase.

It was only during our happenstance meeting with City Planners Ramiro Gonzalez and Roman McAllen, intercepting them on their way to lunch, that we learned that additional revenue collected through a tripling of parking meter rates would first go toward the purchase of state-of-the-art credit card meters for downtown.

The latest rumor involves the pursuit of a grant to turn the terminal side of Adams Street from 10th Street to International Blvd. into a bike lane, eliminating 50 parking places in the process.  WTF?

We thought downtown parking was the critical issue!  How does elimination of 50 parking spots boost the economic health of downtown?  

City Planner II, Roman McAllen

In yesterdays article, we posted the concern of the Lozano family, owners and operators of Tequilas Restaurant and Cantina at 10th and Adams Street.  Certainly, this new proposal, if it comes to fruition, will impact their business even more.

Well, but don't we have a new parking garage across from the multi-modal bus terminal, now scheduled for completion?  That's true, but this new proposal, if true, effectively negates the impact of the downtown parking garage by a third.  Also, consider that the Brownsville Metro staff, employees of Church's Chicken, Wing Stop and Subway will likely

use the new garage.

Brownsville's planning, it seems just gets curiouser and curiouser.