CONTINUED FROM 1
NORTH SIDE PROJECTS Three of six propositions in the 2022 bond contain 10 infrastructure and parks projects individually identi ed in north central San Antonio.
MASONWOOD DR.
2B 2A 9
7
PROPOSITIONC 8 $500K: Walker Ranch Park upgrades 9 $750K: Stone Oak Park upgrades PROPOSITIONB 6 $3.7M: George Road low water crossing upgrades between Hunters Bow and Northwest Military Highway PROPOSITIONA 1 $4M: Tra c and mobility up- grades on Bitters Road between Ashton Village Drive/Cutter Green Drive and Inwood Cove Drive/Rogers Wood $5M: Tra c and mobility upgrades at several Stone Oak Parkway intersections including at 2A Evans Road and at 2B Hardy Oak Boulevard
10
3 $6M: Sonterra Boulevard extension to Loop 1604 4 $6.3M: Vance Jackson Road/ Wurzbach Road intersection upgrades 5 $16M: Vance Jackson Road upgrades between Huebner and Wurzbach roads
281
V
B
1604
3
1
ASHTON VILLAGE DR. INWOOD COVE DR.
CUTTER GREEN DR.
ROGERS WOOD
HUNTERS BOW
Perry reiterated his stance on doing more to address streets and drainage. “We’ve worked to propose improve- ments for our neighbors here in Dis- trict 10, but we need to focus on our city’s failing infrastructure,” he said. A ordable housing Further down in the bond package, Proposition F contains $150 million to help support the city’s long-term e orts toward developing more a ordable and market-rate housing. City o cials said, if approved, the $150 million will be split among ve funding categories: $45 million for rehabilitating and preserving own- er-occupied homes; $40 million for rental housing acquisition, improve- ments and preservation; and $25 mil- lion for housing with on-site services designed to aid homeless individuals. The city said another $35 mil- lion within Proposition F would go toward rental housing production and acquisition, and another $5 million would support new home construc- tion.“With homelessness and housing access ranking as a top concern for San Antonio neighbors, the $150 mil- lion housing bond will help provide greater access to a ordable housing, homeownership and owner-occu- pied rehabilitation programs for those in need,” District 8 Council Member Manny Pelaez said. According to local o cials and
6
GEORGE RD.
8
7 $8.85M: Evans Road upgrades from East Elm Creek to Mason- wood Drive
5
4
ELM CREEK
410
10 $5M: Classen-Steubing Ranch Park Phase 2 development
N MAP NOT TO SCALE
SOURCE: CITY OF SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
The council approved putting 62 road, bridge and sidewalk projects totaling $477 million into Proposition A. The proposed road projects are mainly based upon the city’s meth- odology for gauging street conditions, o cials said. O cials said San Antonio has 457 failing—or F-rated—miles out of a 4,190-mile network, including 73.47 total F-rated miles of roads in North Side council districts 8, 9 and 10. These roads, city o cials said, have deteriorated pavement and need an overhaul. The bond contains $26.7 million to x failing roads in districts 8, 9 and 10, and $100.5 million to rebuild F-rated roads citywide. Proposition A also features $38.3 million to enhance vehicular and pedestrianmobility and safety on part of Bitters Road in the Inwood neigh- borhood; and to extend Sonterra Bou- levard to Loop 1604. Proposition B would direct $169.8
public safety, improve parks and rec- reation, and address a ordable hous- ing challenges. The San Antonio City Council unanimously voted to call for the bond election on Feb.10. City Manager Erik Walsh said an approved bond will fund 21 miles of new linear greenway trails, $68 million in reno- vations to existing city-owned facili- ties, $65 million in new construction of city facilities, improvements to 30% of San Antonio’s parks and nine new parks. “This is a historic investment for our community. This is really our infrastructure bill,” Walsh said, ref- erencing the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Planning for the 2022 city bond dates back to fall 2020, Walsh said, when council members and city sta began discussing potential projects, including some that failed to make the city’s last bond, an $850 million pack- age approved by voters in 2017. A 160-member, council-appointed citizens committee held public meet- ings last fall to help narrow the proj- ect list, which was forwarded to the council in January. U.S. Congress in November. Spotlight on roads, drainage
Five community bond subcommit- tees tackled the categories of streets, drainage, parks, facilities and housing. The facilities committee recommended two separate bond propositions: one for library and cultural facilities, and one for public safety facilities, accord- ing to the city. O cials said it is vital to use a large portion of the 2022 bond to meet some of the estimated $6.6 billion in infrastructure needs that include $2.4 billion in street, bridge and sidewalk upgrades, and $3.1 billion in drainage and ood control improvements. District 10 Council Member Clayton Perry supported calling the bond elec- tion, but he said even more money in the 2022 bond should have been pro- posed for streets and drainage, espe- cially compared with the 2017 bond, which allocated $445.2 million for roads and $138.9 million for drainage. “Bond programs only occur every ve years. In this 2022-27 bond pro- gram, the streets and drainage cat- egories are proposed to receive the smallest percentage increase from the 2017-2021 bond when compared to other categories,” Perry said. “I believe each bond should be focused on infrastructure to help combat that $6.6 billion [infrastructure] de cit.”
million for 23 drainage and ood control proj- ects, including more than $12.5 million to x a low water crossing on George Road, and to upgrade drainage on Evans Road between East Elm Creek and Masonwood Drive, city o cials said.
“HOUSING SHOULD BE TREATED AS A BEDROCK OF A HEALTHY SOCIETY.” MARCO ACUNA, TEXAS ORGANIZING PROJECT ORGANIZER, ON THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROPOSAL CONTAINED IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO’S $1.2 BILLION BOND
14
COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook