San Antonio Removes Bicycle Lanes Again

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I'm starting to notice a frightening trend here in San Antonio. Bicycle lanes are being removed from parts of San Antonio. The two so far that I am aware of is the northbound lane on Broadway at Jones and the second one, not a bicycle lane, but a shoulder nonetheless on Fredricksburg Rd.

If you read my previous posts on improving Broadway, you would have seen my cross-section on that part of Broadway which I called it the 281 Section.  Today, the new development decided that we don't need a bicycle lane. (Image67.1) That on street parking is more important than providing a safe place for `people to ride their bicycles.

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I contacted several people and since I was talking off the record , I am unable to provide contact info. This is what I learned when I talked to these individuals. City Council had no way to stop the removal of the bike lane. San Antonio Transportation and Capital improvements are designing a pretty sign to tell you, the cyclist to go onto the sidewalk. I didn't get a chance to ask if SAPD will give us tickets if we go onto the sidewalk but I'm assuming no. If you happen to get a ticket for riding on the sidewalk, please contact me. The main thing that will make this lousy solution not work is that there will be no ADA ramp back into the bike lane that is already left. (Image 67.2)

If you want to complain at somebody, call the district 1 Councilman Robert C Trevino (Info at the bottom) and the private engineer firm (Image 67.3) that said that removing a bicycle lane was okay.  That's the only thing I can tell you what to do in protest.

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The second is the new park at the intersection of Fredricksburg and De Chantle (Image 67.4). Where there was a shoulder to ride in safely, now a curb and a tiny sidewalk was built. For the record, they only removed the northbound shoulder. Instead of leaving well enough alone, they decided that the space surrounding the left turning vehicles needed extra protection, so they created these painted barriers directing traffic around the center turn lane. (Image67.5) I find it ironic that if you go up just one block to Williamsburg, (Image67.6) you'll see the original paint pattern, and there seems to be no need to remove a shoulder to protect left turning cars. 

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As Halloween rolled around I came across this picture tweet from David Killmon.  He wanted to dress up in the most frightening costume he could think of, so he dressed up as a construction sign saying the bicycle lane is closed. (Image67.7) I have a saying that goes, it takes a dead person to put in a traffic light and a crosswalk.  I can only hope that it doesn't take a tragedy  to fix this mistake.

District 1 Robert C Trevino
City Hall
P.O. Box 839966
San Antonio, TX 78283
Office Line: 210.207.7279
Constituent Office
1310 Vance Jackson
San Antonio, TX 78201
Field Office Line: 210.207.0900

Images:
67.1: Viewing South on Broadway showing newly constructed parking where a bicycle lane use to be.
67.2:  Showing the end of the sidewalk construction where no ADA ramp was installed. 
67.3:  The Engineer Consulting firm info advertising their destructive work.
67.4:  Viewing North on Fredricksburg Rd showing the Shoulder disappearing.
67.5:   Viewing north on Fredricksburg Rd Showing added painted lines around the center turn lane at De Chantel.
67.6:  Viewing north on Fredricksburg Rd Showing the intersection at Williansburg.
67.7:  Tweet from @kohidave with him wearing his Halloween Costume. Link to tweet: https://twitter.com/kohidave/status/792946517443092480

Empty Buses

Some good news is coming to VIA.  Apparently Rey Saldaña’s short dependency on VIA convince him that things needed improvement. So he is proposing that the Advance Transportation District funds that are dedicated to the City, be given to VIA to improve bus service.  It's an awesome plan because one of the main reasons why VIA SUCKS, despite being an incredible system, is that they only receive 1/2 cent sales tax. 

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For those who aren't familiar with the Advance Transportation District, (ATD) it was voted on back in 2004 to raise the sales tax 1/8 cent sales tax for transportation improvements.  Half of the 1/8th cent tax goes to VIA while the other have is further divided between the City of San Antonio and TxDot. Rey Saldaña’s plan is to take the City's portion of this sales tax and give it entirely to VIA to help pay for more bus service. 

Now for the record, I'm all for this, with VIA having more money to spend, they can increase the frequency of some of their routes and even speed up the process of buying new buses. But despite the improved service, there's a simple flaw, you're going to have more empty buses. 

You see there's a reason why service sucks for the people of District 4, and that is because when you have empty buses in the first place, the people in charge tend to either remove those resources entirely or put those resources into other ares.  Now just because Saldaña wants to improved the frequency of some bus routes doesn't mean that more people are going to ride the bus, it means that those like myself who depend on VIA, we're going to get more options and less time at the bus stop.

There are many reasons why people don't ride the bus. I mention those reasons last year when I wrote about the Streetcar project.  It is a simple fact that the majority of San Antonio gets around by car and no matter how much you increase that service, those people aren't going to choose to ride the bus.  I have met people who cannot comprehend getting around San Antonio without a car and when they lose that car, they basically become prisoners in their own home. I cannot understand why such a person would choose to remain a prisoner despite having some type of bus service that would help them get access to the wider world.  Now this happens all the time and it's been my experience that this refusal to use VIA seems to be with the majority of San Antonio when they become car less. 

The main reason why public transit bus service pretty much sucks throughout North America is because we get empty buses.  Despite what you might hear about buses being superior to rail because it's "Flexible."  Well always remember that the bus's flexibility is also the biggest weakness to buses for buses are so flexible, that they can be removed from service tomorrow.  And that what pretty much happens across the country.  When buses start carrying less and less people, the politicians and the naysayers against public transit start pointing out how a waste of money it is to operate all those empty buses and thus the service starts to dwindle.  At first, its just one or two buses removed from a 30 minute frequency to every hour.  Because the service is less reliable, fewer people ride it, thus more service is cut and it becomes an endless spiral to where there's less and less service to in the end, there's none. 

And That is my fear, we're for a short time are going to get improved service, but when that improvement isn't being utilized by the general public, it will eventually be cut.  And that is something I don't want to happen.  There's a reason why I call Transit Dependent people like myself Hostage Users, it is because we're a hostage to the decisions of people who drive cars and those people for the most part, don't think of the consequences when they remove bus service because of that service having empty buses. 

If  Rey Saldaña and the rest of the city council can allow to have empty buses for the next ten years, then I'm all for giving the city's share of the ATD to VIA.  But if he and the rest of the City council wants more people to ride the bus, well I suggest that he makes the bus fare free for the residence and make the tourist and others who are not residences of San Antonio pay for their bus rides. I wrote about this on how we could improve VIA especially providing free bus rides for the citizens of San Antonio for it was number 6 on my list.  

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Now in Gilbert Garcia's Story in the Express News (Image 45-1) mentions that there's some city staffer's who are resistant to  Rey Saldaña’s idea and that's because the city lacks funding to pay for roads and sidewalks.  The reason why we have such a shortfall of funding is because  we don't utilize our tax base efficiently enough.  If you want to understand this more, I recommend that you take an hour of your time and watch the presentation of Joe Minicozzi at the Strong Towns Memphis Boot Camp (Video Above) for he'll explain why cities across the nation has such a shortfall in providing for transportation and other civic services we all take for granted.



 







Images:
45-1:  An image of  Rey Saldaña’s waiting for the bus in the rain from the SA Current. http://media1.fdncms.com/sacurrent/imager/u/blog/2447710/10494822_982330635112615_1703404577049168581_n.jpg?cb=1434657782
45-2:  Screenshot of of Gilbert Garcia's story.  Remember you need a subscription to read the entire article. http://www.expressnews.com/news/news_columnists/gilbert_garcia/article/Salda-a-s-plan-could-soften-S-A-s-bus-stop-6599428.php

The Problems with Plans to Nowhere

At the last BMAC Bike Night meeting on October 6, I learned about several projects that wish to get priority funding like connecting the South and North Salado Creek Trails together through Fort Sam, the connections of the San Antonio Mission Reach to the Media River Trail, Via's sidewalk projects for bus stops and this one in particular caught my attention which was a Cycletrack down Floyd Curl Dr in the Medical Center which is #2 on the list. (Image 24-1)

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http://www.alamoareampo.org/TAP/index.html

Out of all the projects, this one is the most expensive and for one I can say, yes, it is needed down a Stroad like Floyd Curl Dr.  From what was explained to me, It would either by a one or two way protected bicycle lane like the ones you see in the Netherlands (Video below) from Huebner to Louis Pasteur.  It the most expensive of all  the projects which states it at $5.8 million.  And it's located in a place that I feel for certain will embrace the path built.  But here's my problem?  Why isn't it on Huebner, Babcock, Medical Dr, Wurzbach or Fredericksburg Rd?

It's a good question after all Huebner is a 7 lane stroad with cars that constantly speed above 50 mph; why isn't there a plan to put one there.  The Same with Babcock, a 7 lane stroad, but this one is sorta special, it goes towards town, it has an HEB, Via's Medical Center Transit Center and residential neighborhoods along it. But no, it's going here on Floyd Curl out of the way every ones way serving only about 3 or 4 hospitals and doctor offices that for the most part, the patients of these places are incapable of riding a bicycle. 

It's the same thing I wrote about in June 11 posting "San Antonio Don't Deserve Bronze," for what I stated is that for the most part, City of San Antonio considers cycling a recreational activity and fail understand that bicycling can serve everyday people shopping, paying bills, working, connecting people homes to their jobs and businesses that they go to.  When the protected bicycle lane along Floyd Curl is build, you'll still be more likely to drive your car to the HEB on Babcock, then to go there by bicycle, as is you'll still be more likely to drive to the restaurants along Fredericksburg or Wurzbach.  What it will connect is a park at the corner of Sid Katz Dr to the hospitals along Floyd Curl. 

I want to see stuff like this happening in San Antonio, but here's my beef, I want it down the stroads that are needing protection first, that connect everyday people with the ability to choose a bicycle over a car in going to the grocery stores, restaurants and other businesses along the way.  Putting bicycle infrastructure down side streets and not the main stroads sorta reminds me of separate water fountains that we learn about in school that were around for Jim Crow because lets face it, you're pretty much considered a second class citizen when you are force to live without a car in San Antonio.  Lets face it, I'm not the only one noticing the bias towards automobiles when it comes to transportation improvements.

So when I filled this MPO Pick your projects online survey, (Image 24-1) I picked three projects that I believe that is beneficial to the future of San Antonio and yes, I have every right to be criticized for picking a project that for the most part is recreational.  They are the Salado Creek connection through Fort Sam (#3), a path I've constantly used after dark breaking the law using the trail for commutting.  The other project is Via's MyLink Pedestrian Transit Plan, to build sidewalks on Fredericksburg, US 281 and Roosevelt for the purpose of providing some type of ADA accessibility between the bus stop and the near by businesses (#10).  I also picked the Safe Routes to Schools: School and Transit Pedestrian Infruxtructure Improvements (#4)  I hope that as they build these projects, they'll consider installing protected bicycle infrastructure along, but chances are, it ain't going to happen because cars are simply more important than a person choosing to help create an Ozone action day. 

I want to encourage everyone to visit this website and pick your own projects (Image 24-1) and you'll have to make sure that all the  projects you pick are under $11 million dollars.  Everyone has until October 24, 5PM to do this online survey, so please get to it. 

I have other issues such as #7 McCullough Corridor Improvements in which they're not providing any bicycle lanes along the project.  After all, that space is needed for cars to make a faster left turn and not a protection of a human being on a bicycle keeping the air clean.  Hope the other projects I pick do the same thing.