Challenge

The City of San Antonio is the seventh largest city in the United States and is working towards developing a world class transportation system to match its growth. Because of innovations in design for bike facilities, heightened concerns regarding safety for all users, recognition of social inequities and the need to address them, a fast-growing population, and increasing demands for greater mobility options, the City’s bike plan, which was adopted in 2011, was ready to be updated.

Solution

As part of a team of consultants, Kittelson led the planning and design for the City’s Bike Network Plan update. The effort included the development of a comprehensive database of multimodal facilities for the City’s more than 4,300 miles of streets, engagement with a diverse cross section of San Antonians, and an evaluation of active transportation needs that looks at safety, access, demand, and social and health inequities.

As part of this plan, our team also:

• Led a Health Impact Assessment in coordination with health professionals from across the state to identify the existing health conditions and challenges, evaluate the needs, and highlight the ways the Bike Network Plan can improve the lives of San Antonians.
• Developed Bike Facility Guidelines for Future Amendments to the City’s code, which include context-sensitive street typologies and a design toolbox for a wide range of facilities that may be appropriate and are uniquely San Antonio. The guidance includes templates to create comfortable spaces to bike in a variety of intersection and street typologies common in the City. The City will be able to apply these typologies and guidance to rapidly implement bike facilities in the future.
• Supported the identification of a city-wide bike network, including a primary network of long distance, regional connections and a “neighborhood bike network” to be implemented on local streets to provide low stress connections to everyday needs on neighborhood streets.