TX: EDITORIAL: Don't fall for the negative spin about San Antonio's massive bike plan

The city's proposed Bike Network Plan isn't nearly as costly as people are thinking, and regardless, it's an excellent expense.

Before we take a closer look at the expansive Bike Network Plan, now under discussion at City Hall, let's turn our attention to the rules of the road.

Bicycles are allowed on our roads. They are considered vehicles under state law. As Texas A&M University's Transportation Services website says, "A bicycle is a vehicle and a person operating a bicycle has the rights and duties applicable to a driver operating a vehicle."

It goes on to note that a cyclist has an obligation to ride "as near as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway." But this comes with exceptions, including when a traffic lane is less than 14 feet wide and lacks a bicycle lane.

Spending on bicycle lanes, then, isn't taking away from our road infrastructure; rather, it is part of our road infrastructure. Whether the city invests in cycling infrastructure (and so far, it has done a poor job), cyclists will ride on our roads.

Since bicycles are vehicles, and since cyclists will use those vehicles, the roads should be as safe as possible.

That is the first of many reasons to support a city plan to expand the network of bike lanes from about 600 miles to nearly 1,900 miles over the next 25 years.

Drivers also benefit from bicycle infrastructure because it separates cyclists from automobile traffic, and creates space between bikes and motor vehicles.

But wait. There are other benefits: In a fast-growing and sprawling city such as San Antonio, residents need transit options. Roads built solely for cars and trucks are not going to cut it.

Investing in bicycle infrastructure has the potential to take drivers off the roads because it gives people the option to safely commute on a network of trails, residential streets and bicycle lanes.

And this adds to our quality of life. Just look at the overwhelming popularity of the Howard W. Peak Greenway Trail System, and then imagine how the city's Bike Network Plan could link to it. Imagine how the plan might link to public transit.

The loudest opposition to the city's Bike Network Plan has focused on the supposed price tag, which could range from $3 billion to $8 billion. But that's a cost estimate stretched over 25 years. It's also an estimate that, on the high end, includes potentially $5.8 billion in federal funding.

So, if we just look at the estimated city funding, the range would be $540 million to $1.4 billion over 25 years. That comes out to about $21 million to $56 million a year in city funds.

That doesn't seem extraordinary for the seventh-largest city in the nation, which happens to be one of the fastest-growing cities and whose voters recently approved a $1.2 billion bond package.

It also doesn't seem like a poor use of local dollars if it leads to additional federal funds. And it doesn't seem outlandish or extravagant since the nonprofit advocacy group People for Bikes ranks San Antonio as the 1,677th city for bicycle infrastructure.

All City Council is considering this month is a plan — an aspiration of what this city could be. Individual projects would still have to be approved and funded. But in many instances they should be approved and funded because when it comes to bicycle infrastructure, we shouldn't be content with what we are.

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