S Flores Meeting Update....

7.1

For once, and it's good to hear, that there were more cyclist than angry motorist.  And because of that, they cut the meeting 20 minutes early.  I would like to thank all the cyclist that showed up and took time out to show support for the bicycle lane.  Since I wasn't able to go and show my support, I asked three people who went and to tell me what they saw. 

Louis R, showed up along with almost 70 supporters of the bicycle lane.  Like him, bike lane supporters warned the crowds that were there for the removal of the bicycle lanes that the cyclist aren't going away.   He heard from the pro-driving crowd that the lanes are unsafe and that they aren't able to drive fast anymore.  Like many others, feels that removing the bicycle lanes is an act of going backwards, not going forward.  He also pointed out that the manager of La Fiesta complains about the bicycle lanes but normally sees at least two bicycles in front of the store.  He told me that maybe the manager should embrace the new lanes and stop complaining about them. 

John G also attended the meeting and he uses these lanes every day.  He lives off of Nogalitos and after being run off the road twice on that street, he now goes out of his way and ventures.  He also provided the pictures so in the comment section, please say thanks.  ;)  He said that the manager of La Fiesta is blaming the wrong thing.  He told me that he should be blaming HEB for fewer people going to his grocery store instead of the bicycle lanes.  He also mention the crossing Guard to Morrill Elementry who spoked.  He told me that she was very concerned about the traffic build up and would rather have more traffic flow. But over all she wanted all to be safe. But she does enjoy the cyclist using the bike lanes.

7.2

7.3

7.4

 

Jenny A was also in attendance at the meeting.  She doesn't live in the are, but would like to live with in the center of the city.  She feels that the alternative route presented at the meeting is a way of the city of San Antonio to indirectly saying to it's citizens that you must own a car.  She saw several people speak including a cyclist who came up to the microphone and said that he goes to La Fiesta, and that store stuck before the bicycle lanes came in.  She was also at the meeting in April and told me that this time the people in attendance were for the bicycle  lanes than against. She also said that she barely heard about the last meeting where back in April, only a small group showed up in support of the bicycle lane.  She also mentioned a old man who spoke in April and

From what I concur from everyone, that this time, a lot of people showed up, brought their bicycles into the cafeteria where the meeting was being held and out numbered the naysayers two to one.  Many of you are apart of the Monday night Zombie Club bicycle ride, and thanks for showing up.  Many of  you pointed out that we cyclist aren't going away and if there's no bicycle lane, we'll be using the full lane. 

7.5

But here's my question, such an important meeting for the city and the future of bicycle lanes in the city of San Antonio, why wasn't this meeting posted in the events calendar for the Transportation & Capital Improvement site?  Since the beginning of this, it seems that people within the city government wanted to keep these meeting under the radar from the cycling community.  I heard from my friend Lydia last year that when she attended the very first meeting on these bicycle lanes, she was one of only two people showing support for these lanes.  According to her, she only heard about the meeting at the last minute.  And ever since then, it seems that the city has intentionally kept these meeting from the public.  Just look at this picture from March, 2014 (Image 7.4), as you can see you can see the posting of the meeting for S Flores on March 17th.  But in April (Image 7.5) and May (Image 7.6), you see no mention of such a meeting at Morrill Elementary. 

7.6

Now I have no proof other than the pictures I have posted of the Transportation & Capital Improvements (TCI) event calendar that elements of the city tried to keep these meetings under raps.  Now the meetings I've posted come from this page and I can only wonder if more cyclist come to these meetings, that will I see these events not come up anymore.  Because at these meetings, this is where we get the public input on these projects.  This is democracy in action at these meetings and if you don't get your voice in, then your concerns will go unanswered.


The next thing that everyone should do now is contact their council member either by Phone, email or Facebook, and tell them that they should not vote for the removal of the bicycle lanes.  That removing the bicycle lanes is a step in the wrong direction.  I personally am going to contact my member and tell them that removing the bicycle lanes is an act of Keeping San Antonio Lame.  For all those who vote for removing the bicycle lanes, I will personally point that out constantly during election time next year and present a chart similar to what Terri Hall from the Toll Party has in the next election cycle.

Here are some fact that you should mention to your council member when calling them or emailing them:

• S. Flores is a major traffic corridor that doesn't belong to any one neighborhood. As such, to allow any one neighborhood to dictate the way traffic flows along this citywide thoroughfare is inherently unjust.
• The local residents claim the bike lanes make the street unsafe. However since the road diet, traffic accidents have been reduced along the stretch of roadway in question.
• The city's own traffic engineering studies show the road diet did not adversely affect traffic flow.
• The proposed alternate bike lanes require the spending of anywhere from $480k to $700k to implement and will result in a bike lane that too closely parallels the existing Mission Trail, rendering it largely useless due to its proximity to the much safer off road trail.
• Instead, spend that $480k+ on left turn arrow lights at key intersections. This is truly the only legitimate complaint local residents have.
• The road diet was part of the city's master plan which was adopted after lengthy public input over the course of three+ years. Its purpose is to create more, useful and safer multimodal traffic corridors across the ENTIRE city.
• Such corridors are designed to REDUCE automobile-centric dependency over the longterm, which results in reduced automobile traffic by encouraging walking and cycling for shorter trips. Such activity is in line with both the Mayor's fitness AND clean air campaigns.

And Thank You George L. for these suggestions.  

According to the Express News article, the City Council will hear about the bike lanes on May 29th.  If any event comes along.  I'll be keeping you informed. 

The proposal is to be rerouted a mile and a half away from S Flores to Mission Rd.  As for boycotting La Fiesta, well inner city neighborhoods now a days lack grocery stores but if the lanes get removed, well I guess having a lousy grocery store go out of business might be a good thing.  I'll feel sorry for the residence who will have to travel further to get food. 

You can find other news stories about the S Flores Bicycle lanes at the websites below. 
Express News:
http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Residents-and-cyclists-battle-over-bike-lanes-on-5493556.php
KSAT 12:
http://www.ksat.com/news/south-flores-lane-reduction-frustrates-community/24009106
The Rivard Report:
http://therivardreport.com/700000-alternate-route-plan-includes-removal-bike-lanes/

If you want to know how to contact the mayor or city council, please look below....
Mayor Julian Castro:  Monday - Friday, 7:45 am - 4:30 pm

Constituent Services:  (210) 207-8998 

Mayor's Comment Line (210) 207-2280
Email the Mayor's Office mayorjuliancastro@sanantonio.gov

Mailing Address P.O. Box 839966
San Antonio, TX 78283

DIEGO M. BERNAL, CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1: 
Constituent Office
1310 Vance Jackson
San Antonio, TX 78201
Field Office Line: 210.207.0900
Email:  https://www.sanantonio.gov/council/d1/emailform.aspx

Ivy R. Taylor, City Council District 2:
Constituent Office
Eastside Office
4458 E. Houston St.
San Antonio, TX 78220
Field Office Line: 210.207.0950

Northeast Office
4351 Rittiman Rd
San Antonio, TX 78218
Field Office Line: 210.207.0970
Email:  district2@sanantonio.gov 


REBECCA J. VIAGRAN, CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 3
Constituent Office
3319 Sidney Brooks, Bldg. 510
San Antonio, TX 78235
Field Office Line: 210.207.0969 
Email:  district3@sanantonio.gov


REY A. SALDAÑA, CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 4
Constituent Office
5102 Old Pearsall Road
San Antonio, TX 78242
Field Office Line: 210.207.0880
Email:  district4@sanantonio.gov

Shirley Gonzales, CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 5

Nogalitos Field Office Office
3226 Nogalitos, Suite 102
San Antonio, TX 78225
Phone: 210.207.0960
Fax: 210.207.0963

Las Palmas Field Office
803 Castroville Rd., Suite 218
San Antonio, TX 78237
Phone: 210.207.0990
Fax: 210.207.0991
Email:  https://www.sanantonio.gov/Council/d5/SuggestionBox.aspx

Ray Lopez, City Council District 6
Constituent Office
Culebra Crossing
8373 Culebra Road, Suite 202
San Antonio, TX 78251
Office Line: 210.207-DSIX (3749)
Fax Line: 210.207.0985  
Email:  district6@sanantonio.gov

CRIS MEDINA, CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 7
Centerview Field Office
Finesilver Building
4414 Centerview Dr., Suite 160
San Antonio, TX 78228
Office Line: 210.207.0870
Mainland Field Office
7976 Mainland Rd.
San Antonio, TX 78250
Office Line: 210.207.0855
Fax Line: 210.207.0859
Email:  district7@sanantonio.gov

Ron Nirenberg, City Council District 8
Constituent Office
Colonnade Centre Building
9830 Colonnade Blvd. Suite 165
San Antonio, TX 78230
Office Line: 210.207.0943  
Email:  district8@sanantonio.gov

JOE KRIER, CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 9
Constituent Office
16500 San Pedro, Suite 290
San Antonio, TX 78232
210.207.0955
Email:  district9@sanantonio.gov

Mike Gallagher, City Council District 10
Constituent Office
Catholic Life Building
1635 NE Loop 410 Ste. 604
San Antonio, TX 78209
Field Office Line: 210.207.0999
Fax Line: 210.207.0994  
Email:  district10@sanantonio.gov 

Image 7.1:  A Thank you Picture from UCC Union De Chicas Ciclistas  https://www.facebook.com/pages/UCC-union-de-chicas-ciclistas/489130477853128
Image 7.2-7.3:  Pictures from the S Flores Meeting from My friend John G.  
Image 7.4:  TCI Calendar for March, 2014 
Image 7.5:  TCI Calendar For April, 2014
Image 7.6:  TCI Calendar For May, 2014  
Images 7.4-7.6 source: https://www.sanantonio.gov/CIMS/NewsandMedia/EventsCalendar.aspx

 
Up Coming Bicycle Events

 
 Cycle In-Cinema .  
When:   Every Thursday, June-August at Dusk, 8:45pm
Where:  Main Plaza, 115 N Main Ave, 78205
Description:  Out Door Movie.  

If you have any event you want me to post about, please email me. 

 Up Coming Important Meetings
If you want to make a difference, please attend.

VIA’s South/West Corridor Study Public Meeting 
When:  Tuesday May 20, 2014  6:00PM
Where: Harlandale Community Center, 301 Sussex, 78221

When:   Thursday May 22, 2014  6:00PM
Where:  The Neighborhood Place 3014 Rivas St, 78228

When:  Wednesday, May 21, 2014  3pm to 6pm
Where:  Madla Transit Center

When   Wednesday, May 21, 2014 6AM To 9AM
Where  Crossroads Park & Ride

Description:  VIA is conducting a study to identify transit improvements along the South/West Connector Corridor in the San Antonio region. The corridor study area includes Military Drive from IH-37 on the east to General McMullen on the west; and General McMullen and Zarzamora from Military drive on the south to Fredericksburg Road on the north.  More info can be found here:  http://www.viainfo.net/Planning/Corridor.aspx


What Should You Say?    You should ask for more frequency on the crosstown routes and bicycle racks called bikelids at bus stops to provide safe places to park your bicycle.  If you want an example what I'm talking about, look at the image to your right or visit Dallas Area Rapid Transit Bicycle Information page .  Also ask that via look into creating bus islands so the bike lane can go around a busy stop.  Via has only one of these lids at Medical Center Transit Center.

6.11

Another important meeting people should be attending is City's Budget Meetings for fiscal year 2015.  I don't know about you, but we could sure use a lot more money than just a lousy million dollars to bike lanes and sidewalks.http://sanantonio.gov/budget

Community Budget Work Sessions
When:   Tuesday, May 20, 2014  6:00pm
Where:  St Bonaventure Catholic Church  1918 Palo Alto Rd, San Antonio, TX

When:  Tuesday, May 20, 2014  6:00pm
Where: University United Methodist Church  5084 DeZavala Rd, San Antonio, TX

When:  Wednesday May 21, 2014  6:00pm
Where:  Northeast Service Center Tool Yard  10303 Tool Yard, San Antoni, TX

When:  Thrusday, May 22, 2014  6:00pm
Where:  TriPoint Grantham Center   3233 N St Mary's St, San Antonio, TX

What Should You Say?  Demand that the city provide more money for bicycle lanes, cycletracks, reducing speeds through neighborhoods, sweeping bicycle lanes and sidewalks.  http://sanantonio.gov/budget


Open House - Improvements to US 90 from Loop 1604 to I-410
Where:  Mary Lou Fisher Elementary School Cafeteria,  3430 Barrel Pass, San Antonio, TX 78245
When:   Tuesday, May 27, 2014, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Description:  TxDOT invites you to an open house on proposed improvements for US 90 From Loop 1604 to I-410. The project staff will be on hand to answer questions and provide information. No formal presentation will be given. Attendees are invited to come and go at their convenience.
Proposed improvements along US 90 from LP 1604 to I-410 on the west side of San Antonio are designed to improve operations and safety along this section of US 90. The proposed improvements include:

• Conversion of the two-way frontage roads to one-way operations
• Relocation of entrance and exit ramps
• Intersection improvements
  

What Should you say?  Ask for bicycle lanes/Shoulder or a mix use sidewalk along the proposed Frontage roads and Safe bicycle lanes that stay to the right of the lane intersection.  Also ask for these types intersections called "Protected Intersections" so they can become safer for all users.  https://vimeo.com/86721046


Bronco Lane Bridge Project Public Meeting
When:   Tuesday, May 20, 2014 6:30 PM
Where:  Virginia Gill Community Center,  7902 Westshire Drive, San Antonio, TX

What Should You Say?    Ask that the Bridge has a minimum 6ft width sidewalks across with 25mph speed limits.  No need for bicycle lanes.  contact:  Peter Rodriguez at 207-8154

Shaenfield Road Bridge Public Meeting
When:   Wednesday, May 28, 2014 6:00 PM
Where:  Burke Elementary School Cafeteria, 10111 Terra Oak, San Antonio, TX

When:  Tuesday, June 3, 2014  7:00PM
Where: Burke Elementary School Cafeteria, 10111 Terra Oak, San Antonio, TX

What Should you Say?   Ask that the Bridge Contain 6ft bicycle lanes on either side with extra stripping between the bicycle lane and the traffic as well as 6ft sidewalks.  Also ask them to remove the Turn Center lane and add that space to the sides of the rd for bicycle lanes.   Also Ask that they abide by the Bicycle Master Plan as well.  contact:  Peter Rodriguez@ 207-8154

Frio City Sidewalks Public Meeting
When:   Thursday, May 29, 2014 6:00 PM
Where:  Collins Garden Branch Library  200 N. Park, San Antonio, TX

What Should you Say?   Ask that the Sidewalks are at least 6ft wide with neckdowns at every intersection on the streets that connect with Frio City Rd.  Demand that a protected Bicycle lane is also added and that they abide by the Bicycle Master Plan.  If parking is added, demand that they put in the parking as a barr.ier so that the bicycle lane is along the curb, and the parking is a natural barrier to the bicycle and sidewalks. 
Also ask for these types intersections called "Protected Intersections" so they can become safer for all users.  https://vimeo.com/86721046  contact:  Peter Rodriguez at 207-8154

West Huisache Project Public Meeting
When:   Monday, June 02, 2014 6:00 PM
Where:  Young Women's Leadership Academy  2123 W. Huisache, San Antonio, TX

What Shold you Say?  This time, no bike lanes, this is a neighborhood street.  It should have neckdowns to keep traffic flowing slow with islands and speed humps.  It should also have 25MPH on this street.  Putting a bicycle lane down this street is just a waste of paint.  Also ask for these types intersections called "Protected Intersections" so they can become safer for all users.  https://vimeo.com/86721046
Contact: Peter Rodriguez@ 207-8154 or David Pulido @ 207-8128

Bandera & Eckhert and Bandera & Tezel/Prue Public Meeting
When:  June 5, 2014 6:30 PM
Where: Maverick Branch Library, 8700 Mystic Park, San Antonio, TX

What Should you Say?  Demand that the city follows the guidelines that were lay down in the Bicycle Master plan.  Also demand that they build the "Protected Intersections" at protectedintersections.com so this area can become safe for all road users. https://vimeo.com/86721046  And ask for sidewalks too.  contact: Peter Rodriguez at 207-8154