Current situation
Proposed by Alderperson Pete Miller, the review will narrow the scope of the project to the proposed Cliffside Drive to Salado Creek Parkway entry point, and will exclude the proposed trailhead parking lot near City Hall and the Windmill Road bike path.
Miller’s motion would instruct the commission to prepare a study focusing on the benefits and adverse impacts of the project. During the process, the commission will engage Shavano Park residents to ensure community perspectives are reflected in the final report.
“[The review will look at] the potential impact [of the entry point] in order to make well-informed decisions,” Miller said. “... We're hearing [that some concerns have] to do with the safety of the path, and the informal pathway lacks proper grading and signage, making it difficult to locate, navigate and potentially hazardous, especially for children and seniors and individuals with mobility challenges."
The review will:
- Explore ways to enhance the Cliffside Drive access point to promote a safer, more inclusive and secure connection to the San Antonio trail system
- Ensure that any improvements minimize safety risk, traffic congestion and any potential disruption to the residential character of the neighborhood
- Explore project feasibility
- Ensure the safety and security of the community
- Consider the potential effect on wildlife
Alderperson Albert Aleman expressed some reservations about moving forward with the study because the trail is already part of the town plan, and the city has conducted multiple studies and town halls.
“The review came out with recommendations since I can remember—down to 2016-17 [when] we did the land swap, and it's been sitting idle,” Aleman said. “... This can get quite expensive, as we saw, [and] we had a lot of neighborhood involvement for and against, but that hasn't changed since we had neighborhood input back in 2018. We had a lot of people come out, we did have town halls, we did visit with neighbors, and honestly, we had the same opposition back then.”
City Manager Bill Hill explained that without continued investigation into a trailhead location and project feasibility, the P&Z would not be able to conduct a proper assessment. He proposed funding an engineering survey to give P&Z concrete details to work with during their assessment.
“We don't even know where the trail should be planned and what is feasible,” Hill said. “... What we haven't ever done is ... had the engineers go out and survey and actually propose, 'Here's where the route would be, and here's what you're really talking about, [and these are] your options.'”
Alderperson Lee Powers added that City Council should maintain the ability to halt any project if public opinion is against it.
“This sounds a lot like [Project] Marvel [in] Downtown San Antonio,” Powers said. “We all know that no matter how the vote goes—10,000 to one—they're going to proceed. This is a foregone conclusion. And we've got some citizens out here that believe that no matter what we do or say up here, there's going to be a trailhead put in, and then there's going to be a pathway, and then there's going to be something else. I personally believe that we can maintain control. It'll be like riding a bucking horse, but we can, if we put our will to it ... [But] I want to make sure that anything we do, say or publish includes the fact that we can take an off ramp any time we want to.”
After receiving feedback from the city engineer, City Council agreed that $25,000 should be earmarked to conduct a survey and preliminary engineering that will produce a 20-30% design concept at the proposed Cliffside Drive to Salado Creek Parkway “Hike and Bike” trail entry point.
Funds for the survey will be taken from the Engagement and Enhancement Fund, which is expected to garner approximately $150,000 in the fourth quarter of the calendar year.
Quote of note
“What I'm hearing is, in principle, we've said, 'Yes, this makes a lot of sense,' but it's like, we're the blind men that have all gone on and we found a different part of the elephant. And we think we all know what the elephant looks like, but we don't know what the elephant is until we actually have planning and zoning, or somebody comes back and says, 'This is what an elephant really looks like,'” Mayor Bob Werner said.
Looking ahead
The P&Z is expected to complete and deliver the review by April 2026, to have the review ready in time to tie into the city’s budget process.
