[sirkingwilliam]

FIRST SAN PEDRO CREEK PUBLIC MEETING AUGUST 23RD

The first public meeting for the Bexar County-driven, $175 million San Pedro Creek improvement is scheduled for 9 a.m.-noon Aug. 23 (Saturday) at Christopher Columbus Italian Society, 201 Piazza Italia. Inspired by the River Walk, the project revives the former creek — these days, it’s more of a ditch — into a multi-character linear urban park while removing roughly 42 acres from the flood zone along the stretch.

The project — county funded, but executed by the San Antonio River Authority — runs from the tunnel inlet behind Fox Tech High School south to the confluence of the West Side creeks next to Interstate 35.

Of the $175 million, county leaders have said, $125 million will be financed via certificates of obligation, a form of debt the county incurs. The $50 million difference will come from a combination of public and private rights-of-way donations (land along the creek’s banks seen as crucial to widening the tributary), and city and private sector contributions.

The projects design began in March, and is expected to take two years to complete, SARA projects and planner supervisor Rudy Farias said. Construction is expected for completion by the end of 2018.