University of Texas at San Antonio Downtown Campus officials and at least one student have called upon the City’s Transportation and Capital Improvements department to install a crosswalk at the intersection of Buena Vista and South Leona streets.
The nearby Frio Street improvement project, which stretches from the intersection of West César E. Chávez Boulevard to Houston Street, includes crossings frequented by UTSA students and staff. But following several requests, Transportation and Capital Improvements officials will now also consider adding a crosswalk on the campus’ northern edge.
“We would love to have [a crosswalk], if it’s possible,” said Lani Cabico, senior environmental and real estate planner at UTSA. “We want to have as much walkability as possible there [and] all around the campus.”
Assistant City Engineer Luis Maltos told the Rivard Report Tuesday that traffic engineers and design consultants are working on options for getting people safely across that intersection. Many commuter students and faculty members cross Buena Vista street to get from the Cattleman’s Square parking lot to the campus.
Neither UTSA or City officials knew of any accidents that had occurred due to the absence of a crosswalk at that intersection.
Hondo Aguilar, an urban and regional planning student taking graduate classes at UTSA’s College of Architecture downtown, first requested a crosswalk at the intersection in 2014.
Inaction prompted Aguilar to found the community organization, One Crosswalk, and create a video that recorded issues he observed at the Buena Vista and South Leona streets intersection. The clip, posted on the organization’s Facebook page, includes footage of other locations near campus where he felt pedestrian improvements could be made.
“I thought posting it publicly [would make] a record of it,” Aguilar said. “I figured by posting photos and videos it was also a way for other people who had similar thoughts to chime in if they wanted to.”
Along with footage of people jaywalking across the Buena Vista and Leona intersection, Aguilar’s video makes a case for an enhanced system that stops traffic for pedestrians at the Buena Vista and North Pecos streets intersection more efficiently than the current one. Aguilar also petitions for a traffic signal on Frio Street.
“We’re upgrading that crosswalk into what we call a HAWK system, which is more like an activated crosswalk,” Maltos said, referring to part of the Frio Street improvement project, which was funded through the 2012 bond.
HAWK systems allow for protected pedestrian crossings as they only stop vehicular traffic as needed.
When Aguilar set out to get a crosswalk installed at the Buena Vista and South Leona intersection, he didn’t expect the process to be so arduous. But years of spotty communication with various City officials left him worried that his requests didn’t carry enough weight to warrant change.
Arthur Reinhardt, assistant director of Transportation and Capital Improvements, has previously told the Rivard Report that the best way for citizens to make traffic improvement requests is by connecting with the City’s 311 service. He said Tuesday that 311 received more than 2,100 requests or recommendations in fiscal year 2017.
The department reviews all requests, Reinhardt said, but one reason people may not hear back about a request is because they failed to leave adequate contact information.
Construction along Buena Vista Street can be expected to start early next year, Maltos said.
“We do have another project along Buena Vista … from Frio Street to Santa Rosa,” Maltos said. “That project is still ongoing. By the time we wrap up with Frio, we intend to start working on Buena Vista.”
I recently (by bike) explored the UTSA campus on my way to an appointment nearby. I immediately felt like the campus was really hard to get into and kind of like an isolated island. I do recommend the city and campus look for ways to allow non-car traffic to enter the campus in a safe way. I had a heck of the time crossing the street (on Leona, crossing Buena Vista) because I had to cross and turn, pedal hard because more cars were coming, and enter a the sidewalk that wasn’t directly across. I would also agree if there is a cross walk, it needs to be the kind with an as needed stop light that can be activated so it is truly a safe crossing. I love downtown college campuses, and I especially love downtown college campuses that want to integrate into the neighborhood, unfortunately this campus is plopped down in sort of a netherland of outer downtown. I would suggest also looking into adding some tree lined park pedestrian areas and other street features that allow walking in this area more pleasant and safe because this is a walking campus after all once you get yourself ‘on’ it.
There is no such thing as “jaywalking” at an intersection. All intersections are considered crosswalks whether it is marked or unmarked. Crossing an intersection is a legal crossing.
What’s so tragic about this, the City lost a BCycle station (the cement slab is still there) at Leona and Buena Vista–the only station west of the I-10/I-35– in part due to the lack of a pedestrian crossing here.
Frio needed work (mainly wider sidewalks and more frequent crossings), but it doesn’t seem like the latest project will address what’s really needed in the campus area from a pedestrian perspective–including more pedestrian crossings of Frio north of Houston at Centro Plaza and better lighting for pedestrians on Frio and Leona.
I don’t understand why this even requires a call to TCI. And who will cover the public loss of a removed $75,000 BCycle station at Leona and Buena Vista when we’ve just decided the downtown campus needs to be saved? A BCycle station clearly needs to be restored, with an additional station at Centro Plaza (as long planned).
I’ve asked for a cross at Leona and Buena Vista for years now on social media (please add me to the list) simply as it is proper pedestrian urban design for the campus area, and a crossing was clearly anticipated with the placement of a BCycle station there in 2013.
If TCI can’t see the need for a pedestrian crossing here, we need some serious help. TCI also has a bench to repair underneath the I-10 at Buena Vista–it should frighten people that it was struck by a car at such velocity as to move it several feet. What other university campus can you imagine has such terrible pedestrian conditions?