A tale of two gates: Disparity between 2 sides of Scenic Drive

EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) — There are two gateways into the iconic Scenic Drive, one coming from the affluent neighborhoods in West-Central El Paso, and the other coming from down in East-Central.

Residents in East-Central, near the the entrance to Scenic Drive, believe the eastern side of the road has not been given the same care as the other said, and feel strongly about the disparity in infrastructure poured into each side.

“With time, we saw Arroyo Park get developed with pathways and landscaping, and then the parking lot off of Scenic Drive on the West Slope, the entry gate, and they did a really nice job, but that never got transferred over to the East Slope. Besides having the gates constructed, that’s about the extent of it,” Juan Villalobos said.

Villalobos is the executive project manager at Efficio Construction LLC, which has introduced a study and project to city representatives from Districts 2 and 8, who represent the area where Scenic Drive is located, about the disparities between each end of the road and how the eastern part of the road could be revitalized.

The project would see the development of pedestrian walkways, bike lanes, landscaping, a new Scenic Drive arch entrance, improved outlook spots for drivers, a new parking lot near the eastern entrance for visitors, and potentially having the road pivot to reversible lanes.

“It’s time to polish those gems here that have fallen into disarray. And I think it’s a modest investment. It’s asking firms like our firm to take a look at it, and it doesn’t have to be a very complicated process. We know what El Paso needs because we live here,” Villalobos said.

Villalobos, like many at Efficio, live in East-Central El Paso and view this as a passion project, but he said even if it wasn’t their firm leading the project, it’s still a vision they would like to see come to fruition.

“It doesn’t matter who does it or who takes the credit for it. We just want to see it happen, and that’s why we took the time and committed our resources to coming up with the study, coming up with a concept design,” Villalobos said.

Even new residents in the area were quick to notice the disparities, and would welcome the upgrades proposed by Efficio.

“You can see the difference in the parks around the neighborhood, the houses, the streets. They are different. They’re a little more bumpy,” said Selena Navarro who recently moved into East-Central.  “So I would love to be able to drive around the neighborhood and see newer things, better things.”

City Rep. Chris Canales, who represents District 8, said he’s been introduced to the project before, but took over at a time when projects from the 2022 Community Progress Bond were already set in stone with a focus on other areas.

Such as the development of “amenities in some of the most used parks, as well as resurfacing of both the top 50 most traveled arterial streets and many of the residential streets with the lowest levels of service,” Canales said.

Although Canales was on the road and was not available for an interview he shared his thoughts via email:

“Scenic Drive is an important tourism destination and the overlook at Murchison Park is a local landmark, so we will definitely consider improvements in the area when looking at future project funding. I’ll remind everyone that if the City keeps making policy decisions leading to geographic expansion instead of infill and higher density, then we will have more and more amenities and services to pay for without proportionally equal funding, making these kinds of projects in El Paso’s urban core more difficult.”

From his recollection of seeing the project, Canales said it would require “fairly large capital” investment.

For Villalobos and those behind the project, this would fit into a larger and hopeful vision that could help revitalize Central El Paso as a whole, and attract new people, businesses, and development.

“Having a vision. And having lived here my whole life, my office is two blocks from the house I grew up in. And this area you see where it’s wanting to grow and businesses are trying to fix up the places. But it’s a place where people don’t live,” Villalobos said.

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