SAN ANTONIO | City and Metro Transportation Thread

[electricron]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/loc...#photo-3898578

Service started December 17 with the opening of the bus transfer center at South Texas Medical Center.
This is the first, that I'm aware of, super big bus BRT line in Texas. Should it even be qualified as BRT since it runs in existing lanes in city streets, which they will be sharing with other traffic?

The photos accompanying the news story didn't show big crowds, not as big as we saw with A-Train, CapMetroRail, DART, or Metro trains openings.

Does it really require trains to create much enthusiasm in Texas? Would dedicated lanes and roads do this trick?

It'll be interesting to see what the growth in ridership is after a year to see if all this investment was worth it.

[cole world11]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/...et-4140712.php

Less than two years to build 4 connectors. I say not bad. Now let's get the southbound connectors up!

[KevinFromTexas]

One of San Antonio's B-Cycle stations at the central library in downtown. Of course I didn't need a bike since I had brought my own. I didn't even notice the backwards seat until now.

[JACKinBeantown]

Kevin, is there a map with those bike rack locations?

[miaht82]

http://sanantonio.bcycle.com/Portals...o-map2013a.pdf

You can also see it here, but you have to scroll a bit up and down.

[audiomuse]

Found these 2 links showing road improvements in the area. I'm seeing a lot of bike lanes being implemented which is awesome!

https://docs.google.com/a/utexas.edu...jOcAHO6lOBTuAQ

https://docs.google.com/a/utexas.edu...k2c-jFAJh9sRSg

[sirkingwilliam]

Here are the six proposed streetcar routes:













Courtesy of MYSA Downtown Blog.

[JACKinBeantown]

Thanks for the map, Kevin.

Is there a favored streetcar route alternative?

[sirkingwilliam]

Huh? I posted the maps.

[Keep-SA-Lame]

I'm under the impression that alternative 1 is favored.

[Schertz1]

Hope they do not run it in front of Alamo Plaza.

[sirkingwilliam]

Originally Posted by Schertz1

Hope they do not run it in front of Alamo Plaza.

why's that?

[sirkingwilliam]

San Antonio seeks to amp up use of tiny electric cars on city streets


Neighborhood electric cars, or NEVs, now are legal on San Antonio streets with 35-mph speed limits or less.

Tiny electric cars aren't just for the golf course or narrow European streets anymore.

The City Council voted Thursday to approve the use of supercompact neighborhood electronic vehicles, or NEVs, on city streets with posted speed limits of 35 mph or less. The ordinance takes effect immediately.

The small four-wheeled electric vehicles must conform to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for low-speed vehicles and include seat belts, rearview mirrors, head and tail lights, a windshield made of safety glass, a parking brake and a conventional vehicle identification number.

Read more.

[sirkingwilliam]

Second largest bike share program in the U.S. is getting bigger.

San Antonio B-Cycle to add 7 more downtown stations this summer; plan to also add tricycle bike to selection

San Antonio B-Cycle is testing this tricycle as part of a plan to add three-wheelers to its popular bike-share program. The trikes, with a basket behind the seat and another in front of the handlebars, would be available at a variety of B-Cycle stations around downtown. Photo: Sarah Tressler / San Antonio Express-News

Starting Monday, you may spot a tricycle at the city's B-Cycle stations. The bike-share program is looking at rolling out tricycles to the Alamo City and is starting by beta testing with a single trike.
The tricycles include a larger rear cargo basket in addition to the smaller front cargo basket mounted to the handlebars.

In addition to possibly adding tricycles in the near future, B-Cycle will add seven new stations this summer. The locations are not yet firm, but Snell said they will be used to fill in some of the gaps in density in the downtown area. One station installation is slated for June and another is slated for August, she said.

“After these two installations,” she said, “we'll have 50 B-Cycle stations and 500 bikes.”

Read more.

[Keep-SA-Lame]

Those tricycles are pretty cool!

[sirkingwilliam]

Originally Posted by Keep-SA-Lame

Those tricycles are pretty cool!

I actually saw someone riding one of thèm today when I was driving downtown.

[miaht82]

Those trikes are pretty cool; I wonder if I sponsor one if they will let me put wheels with more spokes on it and a mural on the back.

Oh, and SA has (perhaps) the 2nd largest B-Cycle bike share program. D.C., Miami Beach and Minneapolis each have over 1000 bikes and 100 stations each, with Boston also above 700 bikes and Denver just slightly ahead of SA.

http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/promote...ms_4-12-13.pdf

[audiomuse]

I'm really impressed by SA's bike sharing system!

Austin is still working on ours.. hopefully we'll have it up and running this fall

[WorldTexas]

Via has presented some updated renderings for the Westside Multimodal Center. I like that they've stayed close to the original vision, it feels fresh and open. Hopefully some developers like it to and put up some useful buildings around it.

My only question, what do they keep calling it generic Westside Transit Center? I think they should just call it Cattleman Square or Cattleman Station.

http://www.sanantonio.gov/historic/D...r_Phase_II.pdf

[Fireoutofclay]

Originally Posted by WorldTexas

My only question, what do they keep calling it generic Westside Transit Center? I think they should just call it Cattleman Square or Cattleman Station.

I second that.