Over the past 20 years residents of Montana Vista, a Colonia located on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas, felt like a forgotten community because of the poverty, the isolation of the area, and the difficulty to get access to county and state representatives.
They appealed to the then pastor of San Juan Diego Catholic Church, Father Ed Roden-Lucero, who was a longtime leader and co-chair of EPISO, for support in getting much needed basic services and infrastructure for their community.
They began by discussing efforts to get water, wastewater, parks, single-member voting districts for the Clint Independent School District, and for the extension of Greg Rd. to Edgemere Blvd.
The initial request for the extension of the road was for convenience, not safety. However, when a serious accident occurred that closed the only entrance to this community for more than 8 hours during the day, they saw the urgency in pushing elected officials for the extension of Greg Rd to Edgemere. They held accountability sessions with candidates and obtained commitments from the then newly elected county commissioner, Vince Perez. Leaders attended meetings and hosted hundreds of house meetings with the constituency to push for the safety improvements and extension of the roads.
On the day of the accident there was no access in or out of the Montana Vista area for a whole day. The only way out or in was to take a one-hour detour to Horizon Blvd and then through back roads. It was chaos for parents taking their children to school, buses picking up and dropping off children, and people going to and from work. The extension of Greg Rd. became the only solution for the safety of the community.
Today we gathered with Fr. Ed Roden-Lucero, leaders of San Juan Diego, residents of Montana Vista, and county commissioner Vince Perez at the opening of the new four lane road with bike routes, sidewalks, lighting, and landscaping. Together we all celebrated the accomplishment of the extension and the countless hours of work that the leaders and residents invested to make their community safer.