Manny Peláez, San Antonio District 8 council member, said these bond projects represent significant investments in critical long-term infrastructure for San Antonians.
“They will enhance our quality of life through improvements to streets, bridges, sidewalks and parks,” Peláez said.
The big picture
The 2022-27 Bond is 41% larger than the 2017-22 bond, and is the largest issued in San Antonio’s history, according to city documents.
It was designed to meet future needs and keep pace with a growing population of around 16,000-22,000 new residents each year, said John Courage, San Antonio District 9 council member.
“We really need to look at what the future needs are going to be three to five years ahead of time in order to keep up with the pace,” Courage said.
District 10 council member Marc Whyte said the size of the bond was required to update aging infrastructure so the city can continue to grow.
“[San Antonio] has aging infrastructure throughout each of the districts in San Antonio. So this money is going to be put to good use to help the city’s connectivity, help us continue to grow and help refresh that infrastructure,” Whyte said.
Peláez also said this is the first bond to include funding for affordable housing.
$150 million of bond funds are aimed at creating and improving affordable housing in five categories. These include $45 million for homeowner rehabilitation and preservation projects; $40 million to improve rental housing acquisition, rehabilitation and preservation; $35 million for building affordable rental homes; $25 million to connect unhoused residents with housing resources; and $5 million for building affordable homes for San Antonians.
“[Affordable housing] is something that the city has been pushing for, though we need to make sure that any new multifamily housing project that we do, whether it’s through the bond or not, is done responsibly. [City officials] have to ensure that they won’t have any sort of negative impact on the quality of life for any neighborhood that the project might be going next to,” Whyte said.
Zooming in
The bond projects are different for each area of the city and include a total of 1,804 miles of repaved streets, adding and expanding sidewalks, and building new roads, Courage said.
Whyte said projects that focus on infrastructure support and traffic congestion will help District 10 residents the most.
Peláez said drainage projects will reduce low-water road closures during heavy rains, and improvements to the roads and sidewalks will facilitate a better traffic flow for pedestrians.
Courage said several projects overhaul major intersections, including the extension on Sonterra Boulevard, which will reconstruct the dead end road into an intersection that leads to Loop 1604.
Whyte said another priority of the road projects is increasing pedestrian mobility and safety.
“There’s a big emphasis on repairing old sidewalks and filling in the gaps, and thanks to the bond project, we’re able to really invest and prioritize our pedestrian mobility and safety in District 10,” Whyte said.
To prioritize streets most in need of reconstruction, city officials perform tests to determine a street’s pavement condition index and grade it from A to F. According to city documents, 43% of roadways have been graded as A, while 11% of roadways have failed city tests.
According to city documents, the 2022-27 Bond program earmarks $100.5 million for reconstruction of F-graded roadways.
Quote of note
“Parks provide vital spaces for community members to engage in physical activity, get the kids off the screens and help everybody live a healthier lifestyle.” - - Marc Whyte, District 10 council member
“These elements encourage physical activity, foster a sense of community, neighborhood pride and create a safer environment for families to enjoy their city parks.” - - Manny Peláez, District 8 council member
Diving in deeper
As a further investment in public green spaces, the 2022-27 Bond invests in rehabilitation projects for parks across the city, with an estimated total budget of $17.73 million for the 14 park projects occurring throughout North San Antonio, as well as $104.83 million in funds for greenway trails.
“[Parks] enhance property values, and they promote environmental sustainability by preserving the green spaces,” Whyte said.
Park projects include general rehabilitation projects; widening and rehabilitating trails; shade enhancements; adding additional lighting, sidewalks and picnic tables; and improvements to several parks’ overall aesthetic. Peláez said some notable projects in District 8 include unique cycle tracks, skate parks and courts in Eisenhower Park and Springtime Park.
Courage said some of the projects have straightforward solutions.
“Gold Canyon Park had a trail that went about halfway through the park and stopped, and people just turned around and went back the other way. And now we’ve continued that walking trail in a loop all the way around,” Courage said.
The bond also includes funding for two new parks: Medical Center Area Park and Buchsenschutz Park.
The majority of the bond projects are scheduled to be completed between 2024 and 2027.
