Our Local MPO is asking for Input on proposals for bicycle and pedestrian facilities across the region. They Are....
Hillcrest/Babcock Intersection Improvements: $1,000,000
Converse Greenway Trail: $1,382,725
Ackerman Sidewalks and Bike Lanes: $1,742,763
New Braunfels Citywide Pedestrian Connectivity: $1,516,711
Zarzamora Pedestrian Improvements: $5,000,000
Schertz Pedestrian Routes & Bike Lanes: $1,158,266
Seguin, Walnut Springs Trail Extension Project: $2,801,246
Alazan Creek Linear Hike and Bike Trail: $6,000,000
Martinez Creek Linear Hike and Bike Trail: $3,125,000
If you add all the amounts together, you get $23,726,671. Unfortunately, there's only $15,000,000 available for projects. The Alamo Area MPO wants you to rank these projects as to which ones are the top 3 (click here) and here are those projects and the reason why I put them in the priority.
5. Martinez Creek Linear Hike and Bike Trail:
Cost: $3,125,000
Project Description: Consists of 1.4 miles of 10 foot wide shared hike and bike trail along
Martinez Creek beginning at
Cincinnati Avenue and extending to Mario Farias Park.
As a person who uses the linear Creekway for commuting and a person who violates the law that states such trails can't be used after dark, I am for the expansion of such trails. These trails will only help the police go underneath and chase away the homeless that sleep underneath these bridges. It
4. Converse Greenway Trail:
Cost: $1,382,725
Project Description: Construct 1.2 miles of 10' wide concrete linear greenway trail between
Converse North Park and Converse City Park.
If this trail is ever completed, it will serve a basic need of being able to connect two places. It will provide residence who don't own a car an alternative across Gibbs-Sprawl Rd (an aptly named rd by the way). I don't know if Converse will ever allow this trail to be used after dark, but it would be really cool if they did.
3. Schertz Pedestrian Routes & Bike Lanes:
Cost: $1,158,266
Project Description: Construct 10’ shared-used path. Construct 6’ sidewalks, including curbs, curb ramps, and drainage. Stripe 6-8’ bike lanes along two connector streets. 6.97 miles total.
When I wrote my post, Where 2 Live in SA W/O a CAR, I wrote it with the personal experience of not owning a car. I'm always asked if other areas of Bexar County could be an area to live with out a car and my answer is only if there's proper infrastructure is available to be able to walk or to bike. Schertz is such an area not only lacking basic pedestrian infrastructure, but VIA bus services. I can attest with personal experience that the reason why VIA is so loathed even though they do a lot of things right is because many areas of San Antonio lack basic pedestrian infrastructure. People would rather wait for a bus to go around a block than to walk there all together. Having Schertz improve sidewalks and add bicycle lanes will help provide the residence with alternatives to go to the grocery story and compete with more walkable areas of San Antonio. But take my advice Scherts, putting in protected bicycle lanes will help with the traffic problem way better than any painted bicycle lanes.
2. New Braunfels Citywide Pedestrian Connectivity:
Cost: $1,516,711
Project Description: Construct sidewalks, ramps, and other pedestrian-related infrastructure
in the
Seele Elementary School area and on key segments of San Antonio
Street, Walnut Avenue, and
McQueeney Road (2.2 total miles).
As
a member of Strong Towns, I understand that improving sidewalks is the
best investment that any municipality can make to receive the biggest
return. If you ever been to New Braunfels, you would know the community
is lacking sidewalks. They could use some sidewalks.
1. Zarzamora Pedestrian Improvements
Cost: $5,000,000
Project Description: Install missing sidewalks, repair existing sidewalks, remove unnecessary
utility poles, install pedestrian crossing infrastructure, implement
ITS strategies, and perform road
diets along Zarzamora Road and SW
Military Drive (4.5 miles).
Out of all the the projects posted, this is the one that is number one on my list. The project stretches from Fredricksburg Rd all the way to SW Military Dr. It is a 4 lane corridor of speeding cars, impassable sidewalks on the west side. It's also where VIA wants to put its next Primo route for the 520 is the second busiest route in the city. It is also no coincidence that the Diabetes Institue is located at 701 S Zarzamora St. Offering alternatives to driving and to people who are using wheelchairs to get around would help the west side out greatly.
Total Cost for all 5 projects: $12,182,702
Now some of you are probably asking me, why didn't you include Alazan Creek Linear Hike and Bike Trail or Hillcrest/Babcock Intersection Improvements. Well the reason why I didn't list them is because our MPO now includes New Braunfels, Seguin and Beorne, so when deciding the priorities on this list, I thought of those places too. If It was being San Antonio centrist, I would have made Zarzamore, Alazan and Martinez the top of this list. Also the other reason why I left out the project in Seguin is because I don't know enough about the project at all to give my two cents.
Remember, all comments are due February 28, 2017.
Showing posts with label Alamo Area Planning Organization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alamo Area Planning Organization. Show all posts
Friday, February 24, 2017
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
What The Source Failed to Mention.
On January 4, 2017, TPR The Source had a show called, "Is San Antonio 'Stuck Behind The Wheel'?".
They had 3 guest....
They also had two reporters as well
Through out the entire show, they mentioned some solutions like managed lanes, passenger trains and car pooling, everything else other than bicycling and walking. Below are my impressions of some of the guest and what they talked about....
Ray Lopez
It's funny how they had a guy on who voted against the multimodal system he so championed. I remember meeting him for the first time at this event at the Pearl I think back in 2012. He described rail as part of this 'multimodal system.' He described it as people would get in their cars and drive to the train station and hop on the light rail, then they'll take a bus or a rubber tire trolley to their final destination. What I heard was, "you get in to your car, then you park, then you get into this bigger car to transfer to this ugly car to your final destination.' I doubt that his ideal would come to fruition because even he refuses to take the bus to pick up his kid from school because he would have to wait for an hour for the next bus. Doubt that others are willing to do the same even with a train.
Comparing Dallas to San Antonio
The one thing that got on my nerves is that these people couldn't stop comparing what they have in Dallas, to what can be accomplished here in San Antonio. That's because DART put it's light rail down old railroad right of ways. Houston is a better example of what will happen if they ever put in light rail which is right down the middle of the street. The thing about Houston is that they have these wide streets which I refer to as stroads (see video) to be able to put down these rails without really impacting vehicle lanes.
Another thing that they didn't talk about is that the light rail in Dallas really fails to get people out of their cars. What it does do, it keeps people who can't afford cars from needing to buy a car. When I rode the DART system two years ago, the people I met and talked to seem to have money. That if they lived in San Antonio, they would break down and buy a car. But because the DART system works like a 'glove', they don't really feel the need to buy one. If you want to know why people aren't using the rail in the DFW area, I ask you to go back and read Doing Commuter Rail Right Part I. Apparently even if we get rail, we won't be operating it well either.
SA Traffic Jam Future
You got to love the doom and gloom predictions that Linda Alvarado-Vela along with Ray Lopez put out through the entire show on how 1.5 million more people are coming to San Antonio in the next 20 years and they all are going to drive. To be honest, I don't see that many people moving to San Antonio. I'll be surprises if 500,000 more comes to Bexar County. Let me tell you why their predictions are wrong.
There's No Money.
With all the solutions they put forward, they left out the fine print, no money for said projects. Adding a vehicle lane or managed lane to the freeway, building a light rail network, all cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Take into account for TxDOT lacking money for basic road maintenance, and you come to realize how screwed we are. You'll hear from the Toll party on how we have the money to fix the problems with congestion, telling you how this politician or that politician is stealing your future away by supporting toll roads. Or you can accept reality that the reason why the MPO and TxDOT were looking to toll roads as a solution was because they saw the budget shortfalls of today coming back at the turn of the century. It is because of the Toll Party efforts that we don't have light rail nor managed lanes on any of our freeways. To say they (our political leaders) are against driving leaves our a simple fact that they to drive cars and like you don't want to be stuck in traffic.
For the record, I do agree with the toll party on public/private partnerships, they tend to screw everyone for profit.
Alas not Least
The one thing that I have dedicated this blog for is the cheaper solution such as bicycle lanes and protected bicycle lanes. I'm also a big supporter of rail transit which isn't cheap and constantly inform people through this blog how it's better than buses. But at the same time, I don't misinform you about such realities of how said systems would work and won't be as advertised. But let's lay out the most obvious fact of all that is not mentioned anywhere, which is our congestion is a sign of our city being a successful place to live. Now before you accused me of wanting to be stuck in a traffic jam, I like you don't want to be stuck in one.
I cannot help the fact that we live in a city where those in charge refuse to provide alternatives and only 3% of the population shows up to vote in city elections. Those 3% of people ate against bicycle lanes calling it graffiti. Since the majority of local citizens aren't showing up at the polls, we'll we deserve to be stuck behind the wheel.
They had 3 guest....
- Ray Lopez - City Councilman - District 6 and chair of the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization's Transportation Policy Board
- Jeff Arndt - President/CEO of VIA Metropolitan Transit .
- Linda Alvarado-Vela - Planning and Public Involvement Manager for the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
They also had two reporters as well
Through out the entire show, they mentioned some solutions like managed lanes, passenger trains and car pooling, everything else other than bicycling and walking. Below are my impressions of some of the guest and what they talked about....
Ray Lopez
It's funny how they had a guy on who voted against the multimodal system he so championed. I remember meeting him for the first time at this event at the Pearl I think back in 2012. He described rail as part of this 'multimodal system.' He described it as people would get in their cars and drive to the train station and hop on the light rail, then they'll take a bus or a rubber tire trolley to their final destination. What I heard was, "you get in to your car, then you park, then you get into this bigger car to transfer to this ugly car to your final destination.' I doubt that his ideal would come to fruition because even he refuses to take the bus to pick up his kid from school because he would have to wait for an hour for the next bus. Doubt that others are willing to do the same even with a train.
Comparing Dallas to San Antonio
The one thing that got on my nerves is that these people couldn't stop comparing what they have in Dallas, to what can be accomplished here in San Antonio. That's because DART put it's light rail down old railroad right of ways. Houston is a better example of what will happen if they ever put in light rail which is right down the middle of the street. The thing about Houston is that they have these wide streets which I refer to as stroads (see video) to be able to put down these rails without really impacting vehicle lanes.
Another thing that they didn't talk about is that the light rail in Dallas really fails to get people out of their cars. What it does do, it keeps people who can't afford cars from needing to buy a car. When I rode the DART system two years ago, the people I met and talked to seem to have money. That if they lived in San Antonio, they would break down and buy a car. But because the DART system works like a 'glove', they don't really feel the need to buy one. If you want to know why people aren't using the rail in the DFW area, I ask you to go back and read Doing Commuter Rail Right Part I. Apparently even if we get rail, we won't be operating it well either.
SA Traffic Jam Future
You got to love the doom and gloom predictions that Linda Alvarado-Vela along with Ray Lopez put out through the entire show on how 1.5 million more people are coming to San Antonio in the next 20 years and they all are going to drive. To be honest, I don't see that many people moving to San Antonio. I'll be surprises if 500,000 more comes to Bexar County. Let me tell you why their predictions are wrong.
- Young people today prefer transit to driving and with our transportation options limited to driving, young people will move to more transit friendlier communities.
- Driverless cars will be on the market in 5 years and Uber and Lyft are set to pink slip their current rank of drivers. They promise to make owning a new car not worth the effort.
- For the past 20 years, MPOs along with transportation departments have been saying that the growth of VMT will continue to grow forever have been proven wrong again and again.
There's No Money.
With all the solutions they put forward, they left out the fine print, no money for said projects. Adding a vehicle lane or managed lane to the freeway, building a light rail network, all cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Take into account for TxDOT lacking money for basic road maintenance, and you come to realize how screwed we are. You'll hear from the Toll party on how we have the money to fix the problems with congestion, telling you how this politician or that politician is stealing your future away by supporting toll roads. Or you can accept reality that the reason why the MPO and TxDOT were looking to toll roads as a solution was because they saw the budget shortfalls of today coming back at the turn of the century. It is because of the Toll Party efforts that we don't have light rail nor managed lanes on any of our freeways. To say they (our political leaders) are against driving leaves our a simple fact that they to drive cars and like you don't want to be stuck in traffic.
For the record, I do agree with the toll party on public/private partnerships, they tend to screw everyone for profit.
Alas not Least
The one thing that I have dedicated this blog for is the cheaper solution such as bicycle lanes and protected bicycle lanes. I'm also a big supporter of rail transit which isn't cheap and constantly inform people through this blog how it's better than buses. But at the same time, I don't misinform you about such realities of how said systems would work and won't be as advertised. But let's lay out the most obvious fact of all that is not mentioned anywhere, which is our congestion is a sign of our city being a successful place to live. Now before you accused me of wanting to be stuck in a traffic jam, I like you don't want to be stuck in one.
I cannot help the fact that we live in a city where those in charge refuse to provide alternatives and only 3% of the population shows up to vote in city elections. Those 3% of people ate against bicycle lanes calling it graffiti. Since the majority of local citizens aren't showing up at the polls, we'll we deserve to be stuck behind the wheel.
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Protest to make Statement
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| 52.1 |
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| 52.2 |
Well when someone did organized a protest ride called critical mass a few years back but only a handful of people showed up. I joke to this day that we were critical, but we were no mass. The ride that is referred to in the picture is the Downtown Highlife bicycle ride. It's less of a protest and more of a fun ride which meets at the Alamo every last Friday of the month at 9pm.
If you're really angry and really want to make a point, I would avoid making the same mistake with the critical mass ride. Instead, might I recommend that you crash the Walk & Roll rally that is held every May.(Image 52.1) This event will take place Friday May 6, 2016 at 8AM. This event celebrates the action taken by the city to encourage walking, biking and riding VIA. But as I wrote two years ago in the posting San Antonio isn't Serious about Bicycles, this event is simply a lie.
So if you choose to make a point, I recommend the following signs in the memes below. Please inform me that your doing this, I'll be happy to spread the word. And If I do manage to show up, I'll be carrying this image (Image 52.6)
 |
| 52.3 |
 |
| 52.4 |
 |
| 52.5 |
 |
| 52.6 |
Images:
52.1: The official Walk and Roll Rally. More info can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1686470051592907/
52.2: The FB conversation that I'm referring to in the post.
52.3-52.6: Memes that I recommend that you download and/or make similar protest signs.
Monday, February 15, 2016
My 1st Podcast
As this New Year started, I noticed that my passion has been doused with cold water and is currently not as fully alive as it once was. It's been a month since I went to both meetings and I come back that it seems that the plan of SA2020 and SA Tomorrow 2040 really feel all talk and no action. Meanwhile, the people who sit on the BMAC are currently trying to get San Antonio to the goal of #VisionZero.
Now Normally I would be writing an entire blog on what happen, but not this time, today, you'll have to hear about what happened. This is my first attempt at podcasting, so please give me a pass, it was recorded while I was at work.
Now in the podcast, I will be mentioning about the TIP, also known as the Transportation Improvement Program. And there will be several meetings taking place soon, so it's important that you get to at least one of these meetings and send in comments. As you go through the list of projects (download spreadsheet here) make sure you tell them that no protected bicycle lane, then no project. The projects that I recommend are the following.
Project #29:
| Loop 368 (Broadway) Complete Street (Reduces Road Capacity) |
Project #41:
| MyLink Pedestrian Connectivity/ Safety |
Project #10:
| Citywide San Antonio Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvements |
Podcast Notes:
The SA2020 meeting I attended.
Realizing the Dream of a World-Class City: Driving Action in San Antonio
Pannalist:
Andres Andujar, Hemisfair,
Molly Cox, SA2020,
Sandy Morander, YMCA,
Sho Nakpodia, DreamWCeek San Antonio,
Ron Nirenberg, San Antonio City Council – District 8.
Moderated by Robert Rivard of The Rivard Report.
My previous Blog Post: Why Bother Going and I give an answer to those pesky cars in the bike lane.
Mr Nirenberg, Ever think of Walking?
The Katy Freeway story from Streetsblog.net
What’s Up With That: Building Bigger Roads Actually Makes Traffic Worse Wired.com
#VIAware VIA Suspends Driver for Hitting Man Downtown
What VIA could do to cut down on Jaywalking. Link of picture
Couldn't find the News story of the guy or Lady who chased a VIA bus and got killed. If you do have a link, please share it with me.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Why Bother Going
About a day or two ago, I got a lengthy message on my Facebook page from a fellow cyclist who complained about how nothing is getting done. He posted his complaints on the Bicycle Collective Meeting photo which I posted on my Facebook page back in September 2015.
Quote:"I went to such a meeting and got nothing for my efforts. It was at the Via metro center on San Pedro. All the officials listened but gave no plan of action to address my concerns, What a waste of time."
He goes on to say quote: "Every month the San Antonio Event Center hosts the gun show. The attendees park in the bike lanes. The additional traffic from the event make bike riding very difficult. The event center has a huge parking lot but the attendees choose to park in the street instead of paying the $3 fee to park. The main problem is on Meadow way. I called my Council person ,Ray Lopez and spoke to the president of the Meadow Village Neighborhood association but got no positive response."
Now he didn't attend the Bicycle Collective meeting, he attended one of the BMAC Bike Nights which happen 3 times a year. BMAC, The Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee meet every second Wednesday at 8AM at the Alamo Area Planning Organization, 825 S St Mary's St, across from Rosario's. All meeting are open to the public, so if you are unable to attend their bike nights, you can try to attend their morning meetings.
After reading his complaints, I got a notification of one of the three annual BMAC Bike Night meetings taking place on Wednesday, January 13, 2016, this time at the Westside Multimodal Center. Also that night, SA2020 is holding their own meeting called "Realizing the Dream of a World-Class City: Driving Action in San Antonio" which is going to be held at the Pearl Stables. Now since I already spent the money to attend the SA2020 meeting, I guess I'm going there, sorry BMAC.
Now sorry for sounding like a conspiracy nut, but why are both meetings taking place on the same night? Wouldn't the people at SA2020 want the people who sit on the BMAC to be present and give their input? Even though the person who sent me the message about the SA2020 meeting asking to get lots of cyclist to come to the SA2020 event, wouldn't it be better to have the people who already advocate for cycling be at SA2020 meeting? It sounds like they don't want anyone who rides a bicycle for transportation to come. Now I'm certain there are legitimate reasons why they just happen to be taking place on the same night and at the same time, but it sounds like they want to keep the cyclist away and focus on what I think Ron Nirenberg wants his plan, SA Tomorrow 2040 to be focus on, alleviating traffic congestion for which I precluded to what SA Tomorrow 2040 was about in the first place back in September 2014.
Now this is why you need to attend these meeting, because if you're not heard, you're complaints and concerns are not taken into consideration. Representative Government don't work if you don't go out and vote and attend local government meetings on things you're interested in and effect you. But the question is which one? Just remember the BMAC meeting is free and open to the public while the SA2020 meeting cost $15.
Quote:"I went to such a meeting and got nothing for my efforts. It was at the Via metro center on San Pedro. All the officials listened but gave no plan of action to address my concerns, What a waste of time."
He goes on to say quote: "Every month the San Antonio Event Center hosts the gun show. The attendees park in the bike lanes. The additional traffic from the event make bike riding very difficult. The event center has a huge parking lot but the attendees choose to park in the street instead of paying the $3 fee to park. The main problem is on Meadow way. I called my Council person ,Ray Lopez and spoke to the president of the Meadow Village Neighborhood association but got no positive response."
Now he didn't attend the Bicycle Collective meeting, he attended one of the BMAC Bike Nights which happen 3 times a year. BMAC, The Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee meet every second Wednesday at 8AM at the Alamo Area Planning Organization, 825 S St Mary's St, across from Rosario's. All meeting are open to the public, so if you are unable to attend their bike nights, you can try to attend their morning meetings.
After reading his complaints, I got a notification of one of the three annual BMAC Bike Night meetings taking place on Wednesday, January 13, 2016, this time at the Westside Multimodal Center. Also that night, SA2020 is holding their own meeting called "Realizing the Dream of a World-Class City: Driving Action in San Antonio" which is going to be held at the Pearl Stables. Now since I already spent the money to attend the SA2020 meeting, I guess I'm going there, sorry BMAC.
Now sorry for sounding like a conspiracy nut, but why are both meetings taking place on the same night? Wouldn't the people at SA2020 want the people who sit on the BMAC to be present and give their input? Even though the person who sent me the message about the SA2020 meeting asking to get lots of cyclist to come to the SA2020 event, wouldn't it be better to have the people who already advocate for cycling be at SA2020 meeting? It sounds like they don't want anyone who rides a bicycle for transportation to come. Now I'm certain there are legitimate reasons why they just happen to be taking place on the same night and at the same time, but it sounds like they want to keep the cyclist away and focus on what I think Ron Nirenberg wants his plan, SA Tomorrow 2040 to be focus on, alleviating traffic congestion for which I precluded to what SA Tomorrow 2040 was about in the first place back in September 2014.
Now this is why you need to attend these meeting, because if you're not heard, you're complaints and concerns are not taken into consideration. Representative Government don't work if you don't go out and vote and attend local government meetings on things you're interested in and effect you. But the question is which one? Just remember the BMAC meeting is free and open to the public while the SA2020 meeting cost $15.
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