By ABC-7 Reporter Martin Bartlett

EL PASO -- Is the proposal to bring streetcars back to Downtown El Paso a bold tool for economic development or a big-dollar waste paid for by you? That's the question now that initial estimates for restoring the downtown system have come back at close to $20 million dollars a mile.

Engineers from a Dallas-based firm hired by the city have two months to answer parts of it.

"You gotta spend money to make money," said Raul Gonzalez, owner of Ruli's International Kitchen, a five-month-old lunch spot in the Cortez Building. It's gaining popularity with young professionals downtown."

People always ask 'Where do I park, where do I park, where do I park?"

Gonzalez thinks the city's trolley proposal would help his patrons get from their parking spots to his restaurant more easily.

But a few blocks down Mesa Street, many sidewalk vendors -- for years the backbone of Downtown's economy -- were less than impressed; none of them wanted to share their opinions on camera.

Central City Representative Susie Byrd said if engineers can prove the trolley's will be an economic engine downtown, it should be full speed ahead.

"We know those trolleys are very valuable because we are always being approached by other cities who want to buy them and use them in their communities," she said. "At a certain point, you have to say either we're going to do something with them, we're going to let somebody else do something with them, or we're going to let them rot."

While the chorus of supporters is loud, it'll only get louder if they can all agree on one thing:

"You gotta spend money to make money," Gonzalez said.

Byrd said the city will look to secure other funding sources that don't require taxpayers to shell out all the cash.

She said the city also wants to know just how much trolley track has been paved over and it still under the streets of Downtown -- helping offset the cost.

One city that's had a lot of success putting new light rail on the street is Phoenix.

The new system is already generating a lot of buzz even though it doesn't open to passengers another three months.

Businesses and new residential developments have flocked locations along the new rail lines in and around downtown.

Local leaders say that's the kind of excitement Downtown El Paso needs.