SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio City Council recently adopted a record $3.1 billion budget and more than $13 million has been allocated to the new transportation department.
“The future is so bright you are going to need to wear shades,” Tomika Monterville, director of transportation for the department said.
And there are big plans in the works.
“What we’re doing is we’re changing the way in which people think about mobility. We are providing safe options for people to move. One of the key goals of this department is to have a safe city and have safe bicycle pedestrian roadways in mind,” Monterville said.
The goal is to make San Antonio a safer and more walk and bike-friendly city.
“When we talk about Vision Zero it’s about changing the way in which we think about how we design spaces, and we want to give people options and we want people to be safe. We also want to improve our health and vitality,” Monterville said.
Families in and around our community can expect big changes in the next decade.
“They should expect comprehensive engaged communication informed by them. The job is to facilitate people being able to move how they want to move,” Monterville said.
The transportation department is going to install over 28 mid-block crossings across the city so that people can cross major arterials and roadways safely.
“We’re also going to do extensive public engagement for the update of our bicycle master plan, which is going to integrate the Howard W. Peak Greenway Trails System,” Monterville said.