Streetcar Part I, VIA Sucks.

Via isn't the most popular at all, so it comes to no surprise that once again, San Antonio said no to the streetcar.  Yet the reason for that is simple, we don't trust Via to do the right thing and they do things that just suck.

On Thursday, July 24, a picture popped up in my Facebook feed of a Bus that crashed into a house.  I heard about an accident on Ceralvo and naturally I knew it had to be the 66.  But I wasn't aware of the bus actually running into the house until my friend posted a picture on a friend selfie waiting for the 100 at Crossroads.  When I saw this picture, I realize this is the best representation of the long history this city has had with the transit agency.  A Bus crashing into a house because of the idiot car and SUV driver from San Antonio causing the problems we face daily. (Image 17-1)

17-1

It was the car that didn't see a stop sign and plowed into a SUV and then hit a bus barreling on by.  To me, the car represented all those who think the solution to public transportation is everyone owning a  car, which was more concerned with driving and making sure everyone else in San Antonio drives.  It hits an SUV which represented ignorance of transportation issues and how it effects his life.  Since the SUV is a driver himself in turn reacted with the drivers ideals and push forth the removal of the alternative transportation thus making Via seem like the villain.  This picture is a metaphor representing San Antonio's feeling towards Via and alternative transportation in general and the result you see is the reaction of the supporters of those choosing those alternatives.  If the transportation choice ain't for cars, then my golly it sucks.  And lets face it, Cyclist, Pedestrians, and Transit users are treated badly in the Alamo City. 

The Average San Antonion feels that Via sucks overall.  Even though some improvements have come, it's still sucks to wait outside in the afternoon sun or during a downpour waiting for a bus.  Riding it also sucks, I can drive far faster to my destination than a Via bus getting me there on a toilet seat. And worse of all, the lineup didn't make a stop at the bus stop for which I rang the bell, but the kept on driving letting me off a mile away from the bus I needed to get off at.  That's how many feel about Via, a system that sucks, that when they finally get a car, they're glad they ditch it.

17-2

Now I'm a supporter of Via overall.  I, unlike the rest of San Antonio, understand that Via is constrained by laws, budget woes, and a city not built with a street grid in mind.  But like the bus crashing into the house, Via, even you make me wonder sometimes why the fuck am I stick my neck out for you.  You see, a week ago or so, I saw this on my twitter feed (Image 17-2) of Via asking people how could you get people to ride who normally don't ride?  In the transit world, these customers are called "choice users"  and when you  have a high number of these type of user using your transit system, then your doing something right.  Via has a low number of these users because well, they suck. The users that are force to use public transit is something I dubbed "hostage users."  Either you ride Via, or you stay at home, that's what it's like being a hostage user and I've been one most of my life. 

We'll here's my advice, and just like the advice I've given in my last posting on Hemisfair, these solutions don't cost a lot of money and here they are....

1. Put Bus Stops down in closed off areas:  For the longest time, If you tried to catch a bus to Randolph Park and Ride on Walzem, chances are you'll would be walking a mile or two just to reach a bus stop.  Windcrest use to have Via services, then they removed the sales tax that supported that service.  Via's response was to remove all the bus stops on the Windcrest side of Walzem.  Since the redo of Walzem, only two bus stops are still gone, the one at the Starbucks and the one that is across Walzem from the Starbucks.  If we're not careful, the same thing is about to happen On Jackson Keller and Blanco Rd which border Castle Hills. I can only hope that Via doesn't repeat history but knowing how history is, I can't help but worry.  Funny how Via isn't mentioning this to any of it's riders when it talks about Castle Hills.  I wish they would also put some bus stops along 281 on the Hill Country Village Side, but then again, they can't because Via Sucks. 

2.  Have the Line-ups stop at all the bus stops:  Bus Driver 9295 loves to miss stops that the other drivers just stop at.  His excuse is that there's a rule that prevents him from stopping at bus stops that don't have his number.  Well I don't see no 9-10 numbers on any of the bus stops along the 9-10 lineup routes.  Now I see 9 bus stops, 10 bus stops, 9 & 10 Bus stops,  9/ 10 &14 bus stops, but no 9-10 lineup bus stops specifically.  When I have a chance to catch the 9-10 line-up from work, It normally stops at the St Mary's Street Bridge, but this guy loves to make everyone on board his bus miss their Line-up connections by bypassing the St Mary's Street Bridge bus stop and stopping at the wait spot on Commerce which by the way don't have a 9 or a 10 on that bus stop.  God forbid this bus driver 9295 ever happens to drive the 30-28, 22-24 and the 25-26 line-ups because if he's not stopping at the St Mary's Bridge, I bet he won't be stopping at the other bus stops along the way especially the Looper bus stops along WW White were people actually get off the bus when they ride the line-up.  Bus Drivers like this Keep San Antonio Lame and I wish Via would put a stop to these bus drivers doing these stupid things.

Riding the 9-10 line-up is also a mistake if your trying to catch the Looper heading to Randolph Park and Ride.  The bus drivers notoriously never make stops at the Looper Stops along the Loop 410 section of the 9-10 Line-up forcing the irate passenger to stay on the bus and catch the 14-17 Line-up.  See, Via's a great service, they make you stay on board and miss some sleep so your late to work the next day. Yet another act of stupidity that helps get people into cars.

17-3

3.  Your Bus stop Shelters suck:  Now why do they suck you ask, simple, they don't keep the sun nor the Rain out.  I don't know why you can't hire some designers who can take into account of the movement of the sun over it's course in the sky so we the "hostage users" waiting for the bus can stay out of the sun's heat. (Image 17-3)
The same with the rain, how about design new bus shelters to (get this) keep the rain out.  Think about that for a moment Via, it's raining and it's pouring, and everyone is safe and sound inside the shelter and NOT GETTING WET.  I'm a dreamer, yes but I'm not the only one. 

4.  Allow Folding Bicycles on the buses:  If you were to look up Via's Policy on Bicycles, you will see no mention of the policy of folding bicycle.  As the Racks full up, people will start to look for ways around the bike racks and start to invest in folding bicycles.  Yet knowing how some bus drivers will react to a folding bicycle is expected to be "no" answer when bring one on board.  Even these electric scooters are not allowed on the bus even though the same parts that you find in one of these scooters is the same you'll find in an electric wheelchair is beyond me.  Just another example I've experience over the years when It comes using Via.

17-4

5.  Bring your bus stops closer together:  (For the record, I mistook bus route number for I always get confused on which number of the 550/551 Looper is going.) In many places, your bus stops next to connecting routes are virtually a mile apart from each other.  A good example of this is at WW White and Southcross.(Image 17-4)  Why you can't move the 551 Bus stop to the Valero is beyond me because the connecting bus stop from the 28 & 515 is pathetic.  Why walk across that battlefield of fast moving cars, hot sun and pot holes, when you can use a sidewalk around the Valero from bus stop #16383.  But I'm not expecting Via to understand, after all, they all drive cars, not have to walk everywhere in a 100F Degree heat. This is not the only one, but there are many in the system especially when trying to connect with the Looper.

6.  Finally enforce the rules especially no.5: It's annoying to hear banging pots but even worse on the bus.  This is the most important rule in the Code Of Conduct, but it doesn't get enforced as often as it should.  The same with the no smoking rules at bus stops.  Now I know you can't enforce this rule over the entire system, but you could at least do it at major bus stops downtown. 

The Smart things Via Does:  Now Via does some thing really smart such as not outsourcing it's fixed route bus operations to a corporation such a First Transit, Veolia and such.  It's the main reason why Via has some pretty good and friendly drivers that serve San Antonio and also is the main reason Via boast  that it gets more bang for it's buck unlike the other transit systems in Texas.  What Via and the Rest of San Antonio need to understand that these corporations rob from the communities that they are hired to serve and pay their employees basically minimum wage.  It's the opposite with some of the Paratransit operations because Via does outsource some of the operations to a third party providing complaint after complaint to Via about lousy service and miss pickups stranding the most vulnerable in our community.  If Via wants better paratransit services, how about take ownership of the operations yourself and watch you guys save money in the long run.  Great bus/paratransit operators should be rewarded, not punished for doing a good job with low pay.
 
San Antonio believes that you get all your funding through the fare box and not Sales Tax.  They also fail to realize that most of the state and federal money you guys get go to bus stops, infrastructure and vehicles.  You guys rarely mention this simple little fact on your buses and to the determent of your approval rating.  So they see people riding the bus and they assume that you should have lots of money and should be able to add more bus service but assume that Via just wants to suck.  Why you fail to mention that your bus service is better than Fort Worth's is beyond me because The T basically have nothing but line-up routes on Sundays from 7am to 7pm yet you fail to mention this fact to your patrons.  I believe that Fort Worth gets about a 1/2 cent sales tax to fund transit.  Also when promoting rail, you should advertise the pros of having rail transit such as not folding your stroller, bicycles coming on board, no questions asked, and fast loading and unloading of wheelchairs.  You can also point out the simple fact that having Subways and Monorail will cost more than Light rail which many San Antonions want in the first place.  And worse of all, you said that Light rail would be slower than the buses which after riding Houston Metro, DART system in Dallas, and other light rail systems that ain't true at all.  

So Lets go over all of this again.  If you want more people to ride the bus, a creation that by default encourages everyone to own a car, then my golly make it comfortable to the hostage users.  Provide plenty of places to get off and on your bus and connect to other buses easily.   Inform your riders where the funding comes from to pay for the services.   Enforce the rules that are in the code of conduct and embrace chaotic and smart like allowing bus drivers to make exceptions from the bottom up instead of your regular of orderly and dumb from the board on down.  I'm not asking for much, I'm just asking for common sense for which an organization like yours constantly fails to keep in mind.  And if you want rail in San Antonio's future, you better start treating us "hostage users" a lot more nicely. 

Go to the mysa.com story on the bus crashing into a house, well go ahead and look at those pictures. Eventually the bus is still in one piece while the car and SUV are totaled.  Goes to show you that eventually Via, bicycling and walking will again stand up tall. 

Go Fund Me Campaign

It still up, and I could use the help to be able to take some pictures I need to illustrate the my story on the Streetcar issue.  It's going to be a three part story, and the result of this trip will be posted some time around August 13th.  If you want to help me out, please help pay for my Greyhound ticket at http://www.gofundme.com/b8rmq4 


Images:
17-1:  A photo apparently posted on FB by KABB Fox 29 on the bus accident. If you know who's the owner of this photo, please contact me. 
17-2:  The tweet from Via asking what could be done to encourage more choice users.
17-3:  The bus shelter at the Corner of Broadway and MacArthur View; Looking Southeast.
17-4:  The distance between the connecting bus stops from Google Maps. 


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

 

Lee's Creek, Joe Ward and Sunset Hills Parks Plan Review Public Meeting

When:  Wednesday, August 20, 2014 6:00 PM

Where:  Joe Ward Community Center,  435 E. Sunshine, San Antonio, TX 78228

What Should You Ask For:  The thing to ask for at this meeting are good sidewalks,  20 mile per hour speed limits and safe ways to get to the park down Hillcrest and St Cloud such as bike lanes down those stroads.  

 

Menger Creek Drainage Project Meeting

When:   Wednesday August 13, 2014 6pm to 7:30 PM

Where:  Ella Austin Community Center 'Auditorium' 1023 N Pine, 78202

What Should you Ask for:  Bike lanes on the stroads connecting the Linear Park and lots of ADA accessible ramps. 

Up Coming Bicycle Events

 

Bike Ride To Mission San Jose

When:   Saturday Morning, August 9, 2014, 9AM

Where:  818 S Flores, San Antonio, TX

Description:  A bike ride down the Mission Reach of the Riverwalk. 

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

FrankenBike #51
When:   Saturday August 16, 2014  10AM to 4PM

Where:  Earn A Bike Coop ~ 2619 Guadalupe St ~ 78207

Description:  San Antonio's Bicycle Swap Meet and Flea Market

Siclovia:
When:  Sunday Sept 28, 2014 10AM to 3PM
Where: Broadway downtown
Description:  Where San Antonio returns the streets back to the  people for a few hours.  Really a great event.  More info at http://www.ymcasatx.org/siclovia

S Flores Removal

On Thursday, May 29, 2014, the city council voted 10 to 1 to remove the bicycle lanes, man talk about a vote to Keep San Antonio LAME.  People in the Cycling Community feel anger at those who voted for the removal which is every council person and the mayor except one Shirley Gonzales, District 5 Council Woman.  After pleas from the us, they still voted to remove them.  I have a funny feeling this is not the last one, and we're going to be having this fight again sometime soon. I don't know why our mayor wanted to become Rob Ford, but he did because this crack smoking mayor did the same thing back in 2012.

The people who came out and spoke against the bike lanes were old people from COPS Metro Alliance.  Take a good look at these people, and notice, not one of these people are under the age of 50. What I found very ironic is that these same people just an hour before where complaining about the sprawl and were asking the city council to vote for the SAWS recommendation of fee hikes.  I guess these people didn't get the memo that cars are the thing that is causing the sprawl and not the bicycle, but they simply don't see it that way. 

What I also found infuriating was the fact that this guy, Ruben Sauceda brought in another person to testify against the lanes so he could get more time to speak.  You know I was planning to start encouraging my friends to start to visit the grocery store La Fiesta, but since the bicycle lanes are going to be removed, there's simply no need to.  I'm not going to go to a store that thinks that bicycle lanes are a safety hazard when the city's own data said otherwise. I have better places to give my hard earn money to and this store is simply ain't one of them.  I would like to encourage my readers not to visit the La Fiesta on S Flores or any other store but that choice is yours.   Just remember, it was this store that wanted them removed in the first place and where Ruben had people sign his petition.

The last nail in the coffin was a letter from the Harlandale ISD claiming that the bike lanes caused children to run between the cars after school. 

Now we lost and yet I have a funny feeling we're going to be facing this all over again pretty soon.  Jim Forsyth of WOAI said it best, "that people who ride the the bus are considered losers" and you can bet that includes people who rides bicycles too.  The cycling community is disorganized and fractured.  We really have no central source to go to or to rally behind.  There's a reason why Austin has all those bicycle lanes, it is because they organized pushed for candidates that supported bicycle lanes and infrastructure.  It's a long road, and I don't think San Antonio has it in us.  I'm not your leader, I'm simply the messenger and you can bet you'll not find any support from BikeTexas.org.  Whether Union de Chicas Ciclistas (UCC) comes through and becomes a voice for the community here is up in the air, but I do have hope.  Look below and see about attending their meeting on Thursday, June 5th.  

Also if your hoping to run off District 3 Rebecca J Viagran on her bicycle, then your wasting your time.  Look how round that belly of her's is. I doubt it that she rides at all and when she's does, chances are she puts her bicycles on her car and goes to a park.  She like the rest of the council will not admit it in public, but I believe they consider bicycling a nuisance, something to say they support, but boy they want you to wear a helmet and have the cars share the road and from the looks of the share the road campaign for motorcycles, I don' t think it's working.  I bring it up because I heard from a person or two about this awful ideal.  Although this act cause the former mayor of Los Angele, Antonio Villaraigosa to become more serious about bicycling, I think it's simply two late to change the mind of this council lady.  Although having her actually ride her bicycle would be a start, but I don't think she has the courage to deal with the speeding traffic on Pleasanton let alone on the other stroads in her district. 

 I hate to tell people, but there's is more people going to ride and your not going to stop them and this story from the Alamo Area MPO is simply confirming I'm seeing now when I'm riding.  Whether we see a news report similar to this one from Australia here is up in the air, however, we'll definitely see what's happening in Chile in the capital city of Santiago happen here in San Antonio.  Actually I already see it downtown especially across the street at the subways after the council's vote.  If you don't want to see this stuff, it's up to people like you to register to vote and actually go vote.  As the election comes closer for the County election, I'll have a chart up on those who support cycling and those who don't. The only way we'll get to see the infrastructure like they have in Austin, or for that matter, the Netherlands, is that we become a force to recon with like COPS Metro Alliance. 

As I heard the only person to vote for the lanes, District 5 Council Lady Shirley Gonzales,  I heard the echoes from a Charles Marohn of Strong Towns.  And for the record, she does ride a bicycle.  He came to town back on May the 7th at the Health and the Built Environment and did a presentation.  His presentation starts at 28:30 of the Nowcast video and I urge everyone to watch it.  I don't know how long the lanes will remain, but they won't be removed just yet.  So go an enjoy them because that's the future all over San Antonio. 

P.S.
If you want to tell the League of American Bicyclist to revoke our Bronze status, then click here.  Also here's a link to there FB page.  

Up Coming Bicycle Events

UCC Union de Chicas Ciclistas
When:   Thursday, June 5, 2014 6:30pm
Where:  Rosella Coffee Co. 203 E Jones Ave #101  78215

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

Every Lane is a Bike Lane
When:  June 4, 2014, 6:00pm
Where: La Tuna Bar and Grill.  100 Probandt St  San Antonio, TX 78204
Description:  We will be riding next first Wednsday to show the city the power of the cyclist and we will be doing it on SOUTH FLORES. IT IS OUR SOLIDARITY!!!!!
6:00pm at La Tuna- South Flores and then to ALAMO BIKE SHOP for a celebration with them at first Wednesday.
Join us for a protest, a ride and beer.

Yoga For Cyclist and Sports
When:  Saturday June 7, 2014 9am
Where:  Rosella Coffee Co.  203 E Jone

Five Points Block Party
When:  Wednesday June 5, 6:30pm
Where:  Alamo Bike Shop, 1016 N Flores, 78212

 Friday The 13th Alleycat Race
When:  Friday June 13, 2014  7pm
Where: Bottom Bracket Social Club, 1603 N Colorado, 78201
Description:  A bike race.  Facebook

Tour De Tube 2014
When:  Sunday June 29, 2014
Where:  The Slab, 414 W Cevallos, across the street from La Tuna
Description:  Facebook

Earn-A-Bike Co-op. Grand Opening 
When:   Saturday, June 14, 3pm-5pm
Where:  2619 Guadalupe St, 78207\
Description: 
Join us of the grand opening of the Guadalupe St. Earn-A-Bike Co-op. Food, music, give aways, bikes and more bikes.  Earn-A-Bike Co-op.


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. 


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

Keep San Antonio Lame

I don't think you have heard,  but the City of San Antonio is planning to use money that is set aside for bicycle lanes and other cool bicycle related infrastructure to remove the best job that they ever did, the S Flores Bike Lanes.

4.1

Stuff like this goes to the saying I've used over and over again, Keep San Antonio Lame (Image 4.1) because I know of no other way to express my disgust at the stupidity this city does to something that's real cool. There's tons and tons of examples that I have yet to write about on how lousy this city is when it was comes to providing pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.  But the blame should not go entirely to the government organizations that built the infrastructure, but the people who use the sidewalks and bicycle lanes on not speaking out against this travesty that has been built for you.
Over the years, I've attended a number of planning meetings ranging from parks to highway to general MPO long range planning meetings.  Most of the time, I've been the only one showing up by bicycle and the Via bus thus been your de-facto voice for these issues, but no longer.  Now being ever present and punctual to these meetings have come to a end. My job at the airport prevents me from attending these meetings that normally take place at 6pm.   It is up to the people reading this blog. to take my place and represent those who walk, use Via, and ride bicycle in this city.  If you don't think you have the power to make a difference, think again.  I've seen the changes and a lot of time it was because I attended these meetings.

The S Flores meeting will take place on May 19th at 6 pm at Morrill Elementary cafeteria. 5200 S Flores St, San Antonio, TX 78214    The CoSA is Presenting an Alternative to the existing bicycle lane which I guarantee you has nothing to do with a cycletrack down S Flores but useless sharrows. (Image 4.2)

4.2

When you go to these meetings do the following.... 

• Be courteous and polite
• When speaking to the meeting holders keep it short and sweet. Do not go off on tangents and stick to the points. The last thing you want to look is dumb, stupid and angry.  
• Also bring handouts of pictures and facts to more clearly get your message out. A good example of this is what the Toll Party hands out at Streetcar planning meetings
• Just follow these simple rules and your message will be heard. And be patient for the results.

From now on I'll be posting these meetings that cyclist and friends of cyclist should attend. And if you don't know what to say, contact me and I'll help.
I also need people to go to these meetings to take pictures and get me information on what is going on. With your help, I can write the stories and provide you with a point of view that you'll not hear anywhere else unless you live in a place New York or any where else Streetblog is representing a community because I am your streetblog here in San Antonio, TX.   This blog is my way of being that voice for cyclist and pedestrians.

Image 4.1:  The Classic Keep San Antonio Lame Sticker from Flight Gallery
Image 4.2:  A car parked over a Sharrow on Ashby next to the Temple Beth-El.

Up Coming Bicycle Events

Ride of SilenceWhen:  Thursday, May 15, 2014  6:30pm
Where: Halcyon/BlueStar Art Complex
Description:  A Bicycle ride honoring those who lost their lives. 

Frankenbike #48
When:   May 17, 2014  10am to 4pm
Where:  Red-D Bikes~ 120 Playmoor Suite B ~ 78210
Description:  FrankenBike (n) A free bike swap meet held once a month in San Antonio, Texas that is open to anyone who wants to buy, sell or trade bicycles and bicycle related gear or parts.

Bike Beat Festival

When:   Sat, May 17, 3pm – 11pm
Where:  Main Plaza, San Antonio, TX Description:   The 2nd Annual BIKE|BEAT features bike demos, live music, roller races, food trucks, giveaways and much more!

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

Walk & Roll Night (BMAC & PMAC joint meeting)
Where:  VIA Metro Centre, 1021 San Pedro Avenue, San Antonio, TX
When:  Wed, May 14, 5:30pm – 8pm
Description:  The MPO Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee and the Pedistrain Mobility Advisory Committee talking about the current projects related to pedestriand bicycle related. 

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.

Open House: Improvements to I-35   (I might be able to attend this meeting.) 
Where:   Central Catholic High School Elizondo Center (corner of Wilmington Avenue and Dallas Street) 1403 St. Mary’s St.  San Antonio, TX 78215
When:  Wednesday, May 21, 2014  5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Description:  TxDOT invites you to an open house on proposed improvements for Interstate 35. 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.
TxDOT proposes improving I-35 between North Flores and New Braunfels Ave. and between AT&T Parkway and Binz-Engelman Road. The proposed project includes auxiliary lanes, ramp adjustments and other improvements to improve mobility and enhance the operation and safety of I-35 in this area

What Should you say?   Ask for Bicycle lanes along the the frontage roads and make sure they use the City of San Antonio Bicycle Master Plan when making improvements. 


Upper Woodlawn Drainage Project Public Meeting
When:    Tuesday, May 13, 2014 6:00 PM
Where:   Joe Ward Community Center  435 E. Sunshine, San Antonio, TX

What Should you Say?  Ask for a hike and bike trail along the drainage all the way too Woodlawn lake as well as any increase size in the sidewalks that cross over the drainage....  Contact:  Peter Rodriguez at 207-8154

Skyplace Boulevard Extension Project Public Meeting
When:   Thursday, May 15, 2014 6:00 PM
Where:  Northeast Service Center, 10303 Toolyard, 78233

What Should You Say?   Ask that the city makes sure that there is sufficient access to the Salado Creek Trail and 6 ft bicycle lanes on each side of this street.  Contact: David McBeth  at 210-207-6342 or david.mcbeth@sanantonio.gov.

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.  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

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
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.  
Contact: Peter Rodriguez@ 207-8154 or David Pulido @ 207-8128

 

San Antonio isn't Serious about Bicycles.

May is national bike month, and both the city of San Antonio and Bexar (pronounce "Bear") issued a proclamation (image 3.1) declaring May 20th it's support for being active and for alternative transportation.  But that's a misprint, the Kick off event took place Friday May 2nd. 

3.1

  Anyway, the city always puts on a show this time of year declaring that it is in favor of alternative transportation modes.  Clearly that is not the case the first example can be clearly seen in the City Ordinances and some of the action of its law enforcement officers. 

I believe many of you have heard about it, that it is illegal to ride your bicycle on the sidewalk.  Well guess what, this is what the official city ordinance actually says....

Sec. 19-286. Driving or parking on sidewalks prohibited.

(a)

It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or propel or park or stand any vehicle upon any sidewalk.

(b)

Law enforcement officers and emergency medical personnel while using bicycles provided by governmental agencies and while in the performance of their authorized duties are exempt from the provisions of subsection (a). Any person, while parking a bicycle in city installed bike racks, is also exempt from the provisions of this section.

(Code 1959, § 38-54; Ord. No. 53243, § 1, 1-15-81; Ord. No. 88129, § 1, 7-23-98)

3.2

If you want to understand how the law works, a good saying I go by is that "if it ain't in writing, then it never happened."  And if you look at the ordinance (a), it clearly says "It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or propel or park or stand any vehicle upon any sidewalk."  But your probably saying to yourself that just for cars.  But if that was the case, we wouldn't have the exemption (b) where it clearly states for city personal "using bicycles" and regular folks "parking a bicycle in city installed bike racks".  And just go downtown, there's not enough city bicycle parking to go around. So far I've haven't gotten a ticket for parking my bicycle on the fence of the Starbucks at Houston and St Mary's, but according to this, I could get a ticket.  Now I have been harassed SAPD for riding my bicycle on the sidewalk downtown before B-cycles were put in, but since the rental service has been up and running, so far no harassment or tickets from SAPD.  Also I've notice that the majority of B-cycle users are on the sidewalk anyway and it would make the mayor look bad if these "law breakers" were ticketed for using something our mayor supported.  Now surely the city can amend the law to allow use to prevent being harassed by police officers, but don't count on it. We can only hope that they don't do some type of crackdown for no apparently reason.

Now I ride on the sidewalk all the time especially if it makes more sense.  Example is riding against the flow of traffic, it helps to do it when there's a sidewalk available.  Another is riding around the block.  I do this when I get off the bus at Nacogdoches and Loop 410 for it is simply easier to get to the UPS store from the Looper bus stop via the sidewalk than going into traffic as well as trans-versing the Loop 410/San Pedro interchange.  I just have a more positive experience on the sidewalk there than dealing with the average car drivers in those areas and when I get off of my Line-UP bus at the St Mary's Bridge, I ride all the way to the old library to catch the other line up.  So far the officers standing at the corner of St Mary's and Commerce have not given me or anybody else for that matter a hard time. 
Bus Lanes are also an issue.  In other cities such as Austin, they allow bicycles to use the lane.  However, several of my friends have told me that they have been harassed by Via police yelling at them to get out of the lane.  Well apparently there's a law for that too.  LOL

Sec. 19-462. Penalty for unauthorized use.

Any person who drives a vehicle other than a bus in a bus lane where prohibited, or who drives for a distance of more than five hundred (500) feet without turning right where right turn within five hundred (500) feet are permitted, shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than one dollar ($1.00) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200.00).

(Ord. No. 72941, § 1, 1-17-91)

Now I don't ride in the Bus lane at all down the for major streets (Navarro, St Mary's, Commerce, Market) simply because the bus is always slowing me down.   Many cyclist do use, as do I, the bus only lanes on Navarro behind the Main Library and on Alamo Plaza.  I've also seen SAPD bike cops use these lanes as well especially on Alamo Plaza.  But just think, if a Via Police officer is having a bad day or for that matter a SAPD officer, then I bet he'll give you a ticket for riding your bicycle down this lane even though they use these lanes too.  So far this hasn't happen, but it would really suck when it does.  Now there's some pratical reason why you shouldn't be in the bus lane.  For one thing, it simply takes more time to stop a bus and as a former CDL Driver, I can definitely attest to that fact.  But don't count on the city  to put in a two-way cycletrack down Commerce, Market, Navarro and St Mary's anytime soon because that would require to take out a vehicle lane for cars and we can't do that because that wouldn't be keeping San Antonio Lame. 

The other law that is keeping San Antonio fat are the ordinances concerning the use of the Linear Creekways specifically using the linear creekways as a path for bicycling commuting.  It clearly states at every trailhead that the trail can only be used during the daylight hours.

3.3

Sec. 22-28. Public parks hours of operation and curfew.

(e) Notwithstanding subsection (a), parks designated as natural areas by the director of parks and recreation and parks developed as part of the Linear Creekway Parks development program (Leon Creek, Salado Creek, Medina River) shall be closed for all purposes each day at sunset, or after events scheduled by the department of parks and recreation are completed, and will re-open each day at sunrise.

 Several times before, I've heard complaints from my friends on Facebook that they've been ticked for using the trail especially on Leon Creek or going through McAllister Park after sunset.  As a person who brakes this law regularly on Salado Creek, I wonder why we have such a ridiculous law in the first place.  The streets around these creekways are horrible places to ride your bicycle.  There's no bicycle lane along these streets with vehicles that routinely speed 10 to 15 miles over the speed limit which are normally set at 40 to 45 mph.  This trail provides me with a safe alternative and a better place to be than among the drunk drivers late at night.   
Now I have the appropriate lights to illuminate the trail at night.  I have two 1000 lumen flashlights including a blackburn superflea on my helmet.  When riding these trails, I rarely see anybody walking or bicycling although I've have encounter families using the trail without lights on their bicycles from the camp grounds on Gembler Rd.  The worse collision I almost had was almost running over a raccoon back in January.  During these journeys down the trail, I've encountered possums, raccoons, deer, owls, and the occasional armadillo and grey fox.  Rarely do I see skunks and thank goodness.  The most magical time I had was riding in the woods south of E Commerce where I encountered a bat flying over me.  It followed the trail and I illuminated the bat with my helmet light.  It was like following a butterfly on your bicycle on a sunny day. Surely the City could amend the law to allow use for cyclist who have sufficient lighting to use it after sunset, but if they did that, they would create a means for people who live along the creekways a safe route to use and not being dependent on their cars but to do that would require the city to not Keep San Antonio Lame. As for private property that the trail goes through like Los Patios, then simply close off those parts of the trail after dark because that seems fair to me. 
There is another thing the city could do if it don't want me to ride the trails at night.  It could implement the bicycle master plan thus providing me and others with safe places to be on my bicycle in these areas of the city where the only safe place to be is on the Linear Creeks but again, remember the saying "Keep San Antonio Lame" and to do that would  not be lame.  DUH!
The Alternative Department for Transport blog recently wrote a similar story about the same problem we're facing here about London.  He said quote:

Perhaps it is beyond the scope of the report to suggest how this might be achieved, but this word “encouragement” is dangerous. What would “encouragement” entail? A poster campaign, or maybe even a TV advert if the budget stretched that far. It might mean some sort of tax break on bike purchase, or free cycle training sessions. At best it might mean a few 20mph zones and toucan crossings.
We need to do more than this to solve this problem. For more than 60 years now the country has been designed and built with motor vehicles in mind. That is the reason that so many choose to drive even for very short journeys.

3.4

And San Antonio is far from doing what needs to be done to encourage people to be active.  And we can encourage people to be active all the time, but that isn't going to help the problem of our obese city.  What we need to do is enable people to make the right choice.  To do that we need to adopt a different set of rules, not to increase the speeds of motor vehicles, but to increase the safety and speeds of people walking and using bicycles.  Just look at this image from the Netherlands and compare it to the image I took of a family on Houston St in October 2013.  Would you prefer that family to be out in the middle of the lane (Image 3.4), or would you prefer them to be on a cycletrack like this one in the Netherlands? (Image 3.5)

3.5

 
  

3.6

3.7

It is sad that, to be safe and to follow the Mayor's Proclamation, you have to break the law.  City Ordinances aren't the only thing keeping people fat and couch potatoes, but the recent treatment from SAPD working NIOSA were harassing people riding bicycles to the event. A sign (Image 3.6) was posted at the end of S Alamo at Ceasar Chavez.  Clearly This is how I considered interpretation of no bicycle signs as this (Image 3.7).  Another thing the City could have done for the event was to put in a temporary cycletrack on the Hemisfare side of  S Alamo so people riding bicycle and those who use S Alamo daily could go by with out having to run into people which clearly that is why it was posted, but that ideal my friends make sense and is clearly not Lame.
One of my friends got a ticket at NIOSA for not having reflectors but he does have lights. It clearly states in the ordinance that "2.Visible when directly in front of lawful upper beams of motor vehicle headlamps from all distances from fifty (50) to three hundred (300) feet to the rear of the bicycle; or b. A lamp that emits a red light visible from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the rear of the bicycle."  In a later post, my friend was worried and concerned that he would get a ticket again and not have the funds to pay it.  He also considered not going to NIOSA and help out at the bicycle valet. People don't want to be breaking the law, they want to be good citizens and pay their taxes, but we also want to make our community, our city a better place to live.  If you happen to get a ticket for not having reflectors but clearly having lights on your bicycle, please show the Judge this Ordinance and make a complaint about the officer issuing the ticket by calling 311.

Sec. 19-295. Requirement for use of front and rear lights when operating a bicycle at nighttime.

While operating a bicycle on a public street a person may not operate a bicycle at nighttime, the period beginning one-half hour after sunset and ending one-half hour before sunrise, unless the bicycle is equipped with:

(1)

A lamp on the front of the bicycle that emits a white light visible from a distance of at least five hundred (500) feet in front of the bicycle; and

(2)

On the rear of the bicycle:

a.

A red reflector that is:

1.

Of a type approved by the department of public safety; and

2.

Visible when directly in front of lawful upper beams of motor vehicle headlamps from all distances from fifty (50) to three hundred (300) feet to the rear of the bicycle; or

b.

A lamp that emits a red light visible from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the rear of the bicycle.

Any person who engages in any activity specified in this section may be subject to prosecution for a class C misdemeanor and a fine not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200.00).

Clearly, the Mayor want to encourage you to be active, to choose alternatives when getting around town.  But actions of the city's employees and it's laws clearly state otherwise.  The city would rather have you drive a car, polluting the air and being fat for that's is clearly the easy thing to as well as the legal thing to do.
So to all my fellow cyclist who break the law all the time doing what you love, keep breaking the law for your actions and determination is clearly Keeping San Antonio Real.



Image 3.1: City of San Antonio Proclamation for Walk and Roll Rally.
Image 3.2: A man riding his bicycle on E Houston St downtown back in January.
Image 3.3: Park Regulation sign at Tobin Park. 
Image 3.4 A family riding their bicycles down E Houston St in October 2013
Image 3.5: A Family riding in a cycletrack somewhere in the Netherlands.  Courtesy of Alternative Department for Transport.  http://departmentfortransport.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/woman-and-daughters.jpg
Image 3.6:  Sign telling cyclist to dismount and walk to NIOSA.
Image 3.7:  My feelings towards such signs.  Courtesy of Copenhagenize  http://www.copenhagenize.com/2013/02/motorists-dismount.html

Useless Bike Lanes

I never understood why we have bike lanes where we do.  When I see it, I wonder why do we need a bicycle lane there, after all, there's no traffic, there's no reason to have it here, but there it is.  I'm talking about the bicycle lanes that are down low traffic streets such as South Main Ave, and Pine St to name a few. 

I simply find it confusing because the traffic volume where the bicycle lane is make having a lane there not necessary.  And because there's no need for a bicycle lane, the people who live on these streets seem that it's okay to park in the bike lane. 

2.1

2.2

First up, South Main Ave from Caesar Chavez (formally Durango) to South Alamo. (Image 2.1)  Sit on a street corner such as Gunther or Arsenal, and count the number of cars going by per minute.  1 or 2 but you'll have to wait on average 5 minutes or so to see a car coming by.  The residence south of HEB and soon to be the future site of the HEB Grocery Store downtown simply don't care about the bicycle lane.  After all, as you pass by HEB corporate HQ, you'll see cones in the bike lane.(Image 2.2)  South of Arsenal, you'll see classic cars parked there, and I've always wonder, why we have these useless bike lanes.  A block away at S Flores St, you'll definitely see the need to put one in.(Image 2.3)

 

2.3

Second up, is Pine St on the city's Eastside.  The bicycle lanes goes from E Commerce St, which lacks a bicycle lane and needs a bicycle Lane to Steves Ave which could also use a bicycle lane/parking lane.  Again the question is asked, why is a bicycle lane even here when the traffic isn't.  As you can see, people who live along Pine clearly find it not to be a problem of conscious to park where there should be a bicycle. (Image 2.4)

2.4

The same with Elmendorf on the West side and other streets. When Google Maps went by, they took pictures of people putting out there garbage can in the bike lane not to be disrespectful, but to make sure it gets picked up and to keep the sidewalk clear.  (Image 2.5, 2.6)

2.5

2.6

If traffic flow is sufficient enough to require a bicycle lane, then maybe the city better slow down the traffic to 25 mph and add in infrastructure to physically slow down traffic like this speed hump with an island like this one in Austin.  (Image 2.7)

2.7

I've always wonder why we've put bicycle lanes down those type of streets and not on the other streets on where they need them like E Commerce, Hackberry, (Image 2.8) Steves Ave, S Flores, Caesar Chavez, and the number of other streets that force bicycles to go down the same lane as high speed heavy traffic uses.  It simply boggles the mind where the city of San Antonio puts them down. For me, there shouldn't be a bicycle lane here in the first place, there should be only a regular street and if the traffic is bad enough, speed humps should be installed.  After all, these streets are where there's residential housing with yards full of dogs, kids, barbeques and so on.  This is a great example on why we see signs all around that say "Keep San Antonio Lame" because our city leaders feel that it's okay to waste perfectly good tax payer money and put down bicycling infrastructure where it is simply not needed. 

2.8

Jeremy  from Critical Transit recently wrote about a blog about this called Transit Tip 14: Beware of Useless Bike Lanes and some of my advocate friends as well as I am guilty of this. 

"There’s a tendency among bike advocates to champion the delineation of a “bike space” even without any actual space being created. You know, “if there’s room for a bike lane” without changing anything else on the street."

2.9

Pine St from E Commerce to Westfall Ave, Pine St should have a series of Speed Humps with 25 MPH Signs.  As a matter of fact, our neighborhoods shouldn't be allowed to have vehicle speeds faster than 25 MPH.  If 20 MPH is good enough for a school zone, then it is good all the time where we raise our kids.  It should have neckdowns  (Video 2.1) at many of the intersections.  The street should look more like Grayson in front of the Pearl (Image 2.9) than a big and wide boulevard with a round about at the intersection of Porter, Aransas and Pine.  The Goal should be to slow down traffic, not create useless bike lanes.

The same should be done to S Main when HEB puts in its Grocery Store and Elmendorf on the Westside. 

Image 2.1: S Main Ave viewing North
Image 2.2: A Cone in the bike lane courtesy of HEB Security on S Main Ave viewing North.
Image 2.3: A Google Street view of S Flores St one block over from S Main viewing North.
Image 2.4: N Pine St viewing South.
Image 2.5: Truck parked in the bike lane on Elmendorf viewing South.
Image 2.6: N Elmendorf viewing south.
Image 2.7: A picture of a speed hump in Austin, Texas on an unidentified st. 
Image 2.8: A picture of the route 28 via bus on N Hackberry with two cyclist in the right lane viewing north.
Image 2.9: A Google Street View of Grayson St viewing East to illustrate the Neckdowns.


S.Flores St. Update:

From my friend George Longoria:  But to your point, Daniel, I agree that per my previous post on the subject, at this stage in the game, I’m afraid it’s all but a done deal. The proposed reroute moves the bike lanes over to Mission Road via Sayers and at that point, why even do that when you already have the Mission Trail? The end result will be another hodge-podge network of bike lanes that don’t efficiently go anywhere nor create any added value (read: impractical and underutilized like the Theo/Malone lanes and will eventually suffer the same fate).

Just remember, those who don't attend the meeting tonight and are able to are Keeping San Antonio Lame.