SAN ANTONIO – The City of San Antonio’s Transportation Department is seeking approval this week for a grant application that, if approved, could lead to the implementation of a Safe Routes To School (SRTS) program at area schools.
The ordinance for approval is listed on Thursday morning’s city council agenda.
If approved, the department would submit the application to the Texas Department of Transportation. The estimated cost of preparing the planning and concept design is $800,000, according to a city memo describing the ordinance.
The city would know by October if the application is approved, according to Joe Conger, a public relations manager for the department.
“Funding allocation and procurement of a consultant could take nine to ten months. Work could begin at the end of summer 2026,” he said.
Where would the program be implemented?
SRTS is a national initiative that aims to make walking and biking to school safer and more accessible for children,” according to a city memo describing the grant.
It was launched in 2005 with federal funding and, in 2012, was integrated into the Transportation Alternatives Program, which funds active transportation projects nationwide.
The SRTS program, according to the memo, would benefit from the city’s Vision Zero plan.
Conger said the department had already begun early-stage creation at three schools in the city:
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Coker Elementary
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Loma Park Elementary
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Mark Twain Dual Language Academy
“We decided to utilize the grant to build onto those programs and develop a gameplan to scale the program across San Antonio,” Conger said.
In April, the department hosted an SRTS event with students from Loma Park Elementary, accompanied by volunteers on a half-mile ride from a nearby park.
Additional outreach and engagement measures would be included in the grant’s full scope. The grant would provide a “solid planning template” to help the department identify schools seeking supported infrastructure in their communities, Conger said.
Conger, citing positive responses from parents and school districts during past events, said the department hopes the proposed SRTS program could alleviate traffic congestion around area schools.
“Long-term, we hope to build a culture in San Antonio that supports and normalizes walking and biking to schools and eventually, that carries over into other aspects of daily life,” Conger said.
Selecting the schools for the pilot
Mark Twain Dual Language Academy, being one of the schools listed in the application for the pilot, makes sense for Emily Hutcheson, a resident of the nearby Beacon Hill neighborhood.
During the city’s process, ultimately leading to the adoption of its updated Bike Network Plan earlier this year, Hutcheson and other residents echoed their support for the plan.
Hutcheson organizes a “bike bus” for neighborhood students, and on National Bike to School Day last month, said about 35 people biked from the neighborhood to Mark Twain Dual Language Academy.
“As a parent, I am thrilled with the Transportation Department’s efforts to seek SRTS Funding,” she said in an emailed statement to KSAT on Wednesday, “Walking and biking to school gives kids a sense of autonomy and independence, allows them to enjoy the fresh air, and provides opportunities to get to know their neighborhood all while arriving at school physically and mentally ready to start their day.”
Hutcheson said, despite having multiple area schools for people to walk or bike to, the “infrastructure that could help kids and parents feel comfortable doing so is currently lacking.”
Conger said infrastructure improvements, among several things, make up a successful SRTS program.
“The grant would also provide an area analysis at the three pilot schools, assess which improvements are necessary, analyze how to fund it, and provide metrics to measure the effectiveness of the improvements,” he said.
Potential city input could come in the form of future implementation grants to fund those improvements, should the grant application be approved, Conger said.
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