The City of San Antonio’s Transportation Department updated its Complete Street policy focused on making streets safer and more equitable. Implementation includes creating a design guide, which outlines a set of standards required for street improvements. It will prioritize modes based on street types, incorporating elements such as sidewalks, bike lanes, public transit lanes and increased vegetation. This process involves stakeholder feedback, data collection and alignment with existing policies.
The City of San Antonio’s Transportation Department hosted an open house located at UT San Antonio’s downtown campus on Sept. 9 to receive feedback on the draft design guide. The open house began with a presentation led by Professional Traffic Operations Engineer Justin Clark, who gave an overview of the Complete Streets design guide. This was followed by a Q&A to provide the public more clarity and further inform their opinions.
Digital illustrations of complete streets displayed the transformation of a car-centric street to one that favored bicycles, pedestrians and public transits. Avenue B at Brooklyn Avenue and Alamo Street were used as examples of real-life complete streets found across San Antonio.
“I also want to emphasize that the guide we’re developing won’t be prescriptive,” Clark said. “Instead, it’s designed to provide a flexible framework that can be adapted to different street types based on their specific needs. This way, we can ensure each project responds to its unique context while still aligning with broader goals.”
Next steps were outlined, which included documenting and evaluating public input as well as having future stakeholder meetings. These will contribute to the final design guide, which will be presented to the city council for approval during the next bond cycle. One individual in the crowd raised concerns about the challenges of maintenance and irrigation for additional street trees.
“One such example is the South Alamo Street project, where we collect rainwater in planters and gardens along the corridor,” Clark said. “The key goal with these efforts is to select plants that thrive in San Antonio’s environment and require minimal maintenance. This helps ensure the landscapes are both sustainable and cost-effective over time.”
Another individual inquired about the effects on the level of service in street repurposing. Before answering the question, Clark made it clear to the audience the level of service taking place during the delay at intersections. While the current code requirements prioritize vehicle-centric street designs, the team aims to change this so that it promotes other modes of transportation.
As the Q&A concluded, Clark explained planning and engineering experts from both Pape Dawson, a civil engineering and professional services firm, and the City of San Antonio’s Transportation Department will work in unison to create the complete streets guide.
Going forward, the goal is for San Antonio to have a set guide to influence engineering design firms and construction companies when building future streets.
