City Council on Thursday gave the green light to creating a unique “road users” group to its lineup of citizen-led advisory commissions.
The Multimodal Transportation Commission will advise the city’s Transportation Department director on design guidelines for the Complete Streets policy and other transportation plans.
That policy was updated in 2024 to deprioritize motor vehicles and design and build neighborhoods not only for the safety of those who drive, but also for people who walk, bike, use a wheelchair or public transportation.
The commission, which will meet quarterly, also will review and update policies, procedures, plan metrics, benchmarks and amendments to city code and receive regular updates on Transportation Department plans, policies and projects.
Joey Pawlik, executive director of the transportation advocacy group ActivateSA, called the creation of a commission a milestone for the city and groups working to create safer streets for all.
“This is something that the community has been asking for for quite some time,” he said. “I think people want a permanent seat at the table for having these conversations about transportation, transportation policies, plans and implementation of these great ideas.”
The commission springs from the Bike Network Plan that City Council adopted in January, the 2024 Vision Zero Action Plan and the Transit-Oriented Policy Framework.
The Bike Network Plan includes more than 600 additional miles of bike paths for San Antonio and could cost between $3 billion and $8 billion over the next 25 years.
Informed by community input and surveys, the plan aims to fix policies that have “created a barrier to cyclists of all ages and abilities” and identify possible funding opportunities, according to city documents.
The city’s 2025 budget includes $3.5 million to start work on the plan.
Pawlik said the commission could also advise on the complete streets design guide, which is now in development.
A council committee recommended that the new 13-member commission include district representatives “sensitive to the goals of the city for a safe, connected, multimodal transportation network,” according to city documents.
It also wants appointed “at large” members from organizations that represent the elderly, persons with disabilities and low-income individuals.
The commission would be addressing issues for motorists as well, Pawlik said.
“This focuses on all road users,” he said. “All of us are affected by roadway safety issues in our community …. By having conversations about roadway design and other measures and making streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists, we’re also going to be making our [roads] safer for everybody, and make sure that we all get to where we need to go.”
