2 Billion and counting

WHO pays?
YOU.

Read the Letters to the Editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The cost of streetcars


"Streetcars crucial to Trinity River Vision" (Nov. 15) -- but for what reason?

Some would insist they are needed for economic development rather than transportation. So why don't the developers pay for them?

The streetcar issue will be discussed in a public hearing at the Convention Center on Thursday. On Dec. 7, the City Council may vote on a starter route costing $93 million.

The piercing question is: How much will this TRV add-on ultimately cost the public?

TRV's proposed cost was $360 million in 2004 and has ballooned to near $1 billion. The purpose of the TRV project is economic development, not flood control.

When the proposed additional streetcar routes are added, that cost will also approach $1 billion. The funding on both projects is a gamble.

Dec. 7 may be "a day that will live in infamy" for the attack on the public treasury as well as the attack on Pearl Harbor.

-- Clyde Picht, Fort Worth