MPO Bike/Walkability Workshop Recap

[Robert Davidson]

The workshop was very well attended. The room at the John Igo library was filled and extra chairs had to be brought in! My eyeball told me that 50-60 people were in the room - and only about 10 were from the government. In addition, Jill Young of District 8 reported that after sending the e-mail blast to district 8 residents, the office received 30-40 calls in support of the workshop from people wishing they could go.

All levels of government were represented. Federal (MPO), state (TXDot), city (planners and Office of Environmental Policy), AACoG, Reed Williams and Jill DeYoung from District 8 were there for the entire meeting and Chris Medina from the District 7 office stopped in for the beginning of the workshop. The press was represented by Chuck McCullough and Colin McDonald. Some TV cameras were present when Reed Williams opened the workshop with a keynote speech. Councilman Williams stayed for the entire event, talking with constituents throughout the evening. It is great to have such an involved councilman representing us.

The MPO did a great job promoting the meeting with an announcement on their redesigned front page and even a public service announcement. They also provided four tables full of huge maps that people could mark up with good and bad locations and two facilitators per table. At the end of the meeting each table spoke about what they found - I thought I had done some good research, but we had some folks who clearly knew their business. Sage Cycles (who also distributed brochures from their store) had a gentleman in a Sage Cyles polo shirt who knew the Leon Creek Greenway backwards and forwards and provided all kinds of tips to improve that path.

I am looking forward to getting the report by the end of the month. There is a small possibility that we could use it to obtain some Safe Routes to School funds this year, but there is a wildly aggressive deadline of 11/30 to turn in the application. If not this year, then definitely next year.

Some other ideas floated included using the power line easements as trails, putting in a Greenway on French Creek, coordinating a Walk & Roll event with the Brandera YMCA to get the hundreds of soccer players and baseball players to bike to practice and games along the Leon Creek Greenway instead of filling the parking lot to overflowing.

In any case, it was clear that there were a lot of people who support making it easier to bike and walk in our nieghborhoods - we are not a voice howling in the wilderness. I am looking forward to taking the results of the workshop and working on getting them accomplished!

Best Regards,

Robert Davidson
Bike NW San Antonio

[William Shea]

Great job, thanks for keeping us opdated.Wish I could have been there, Bill Shea --- On Tue, 10/27/09, Robert Davidson <rdavid...@satx.rr.com> wrote: