Unfortunately you’re correct. I’m a San Antonio, native and it’s impossible to enjoy this great city without a personal vehicle. Our one (1 😑) form of transportation sucks. The buses barely run on time and forget trying to get anywhere on the weekends with them. Several of our recent politicians have done well to densify downtown with housing but most of it has simply been new developments by the Pearl and bordering Southtown. Our downtown has so much opportunity but our city planners have been addicted to car centric sprawl for so long. Until San Antonio gets some better public transit we will continue to lag behind our other large cities in Texas.
The worst part about the parking is that it's pretty much all paid. I never go downtown because I'm not spending $10-20 on parking if I want to watch a movie in Imax or visit an eatery.
Born, raised, and live in San Antonio, and you're right on here. Downtown is totally dead if you compare it to basically any other half-decent urban city, and the city doesn't care. It's a shame because there are part of it that are really special, and the people and culture of San Antonio are truly unique and special. But they make it as hard as possible to actually easily enjoy these things because they want you to pay at least $10 just for the privilege of getting there, whether it be Uber or parking. In what is primarily a working class city, that's not nothing
Nah. Not “Born, raised, and live in San Antonio, and you're right on here.” Not “Downtown is totally dead if you compare it to basically any other half-decent urban city, and the city doesn’t care.” /
Same i was born and raised in the far west side area and the only live area of san Antonio is near the Riverwalk. When i moved to Houston later the city actually feels alive with lots of night life and people out having a good time. Everywhere outside of the Riverwalk just looks like a car dependent wasteland.
The worst part is that that's the best part of town in terms of walkability by a wide margin. No groceries stores except one H-E-B on the outskirts and a transplant bodega from ATX, but you could get by fairly easily downtown if all you do for food is dine out. Every other area outside of a few enclaves like King William or a bit of Alamo Heights is completely unwalkable by urbanist standards. I've just gotten used to hiking thirty or more minutes for so long for so many things that I'm not phased by much that San Antonio does against pedestrians anymore. I just ruck and treat it as leg day.
From what I've seen downtown is pretty lively (in terms of businesses not people walking around) It just doesn't seem like it, as its hot as hell this far south. Now imagine that heat combined with a lot concrete and asphalt it becomes really hot.
@@CeoMacNCheese The riverwalk is lively, albeit less so than before COVID, but there are parts of downtown that are just abandoned buildings mostly and are hurting. And like you said, foot traffic can be lacking
I am from San Antonio and I want to say a lot of people are getting defensive in the comments, but I will be honest it does suck to live in San Antonio sometimes because everything is so spread out and the urban sprawl is kind of ridiculous. But the people here are amazing and I think that’s what makes it’s ten times more difficult to be stuck in a city of amazing people with nothing to do.
San Antonio everything is 20 mins away at most. Houston you're an hour away from the next neighborhood over. Chicago takes even longer to cross. Phoenix you drive for two hours in one direction and you're still in phoenix.
A lot of the downtown lots are being bought by Urban Weston which built the Frost Tower, 300 Main, Continental Apartments which are being constructed right now. Downtown lots are starting to disappear bit by bit. Downtown streets are literally closed due to construction on a good portion of the streets. I work downtown, I’m here everyday. I see what’s going on and it’s a positive sign.
I live here, and your video is spot on. There are a few sections near downtown that are walkable, and they're actually doing a lot to improve cycling infrastructure connecting downtown, but there is no political will to get better public transportation.
Public transit is unaffordable and must be tax payer subsidized. Apparently, San Antonioans don't want to pay for it. These are not the late 1900s when horses were very expensive to own, feed and stable(house).
@@TexMarque Roads are also highly subsidized. The "road tax" does not pay for all the cost to maintain roads. Making the argument than paying for you to travel by personal vehicle vs subsiding a public good of transit is not the same.
@@TexMarqueAt least the horse could be my friend, didn't spy on me, and would be cool as heck riding down Houston or Commerce. Plus, as expensive as many things have gotten over the past few years, feed is cheaper than gas.
While being a NATIVE to San Antonio I agree there is so much parking, however a sports district is being made , highway caps, and rapid transit ! We have the mccombs development which will bring thousands of units downtown, as well as the pearl doubling in size, and the Southtown district which is similar to the pearl along the a river stretch is also doubling in size, we have lots of ways to go but we have some council members and lots of passionate residents voicing their concerns for change and adaptation
As someone who hasn't left san antonio for a long time when I visited Colorado, I was in awe because denver is super walkable while keeping the traffic through the streets.
What's the difference between SA and Denver in the summer? About 30 degrees of blistering heat? That's why SA isn't a walkable city, no one wants to in the summer.
I used to live in Denver and I am from the South side of SA. Denver is not all that believe me. The only thing they got is the train but the train stops be far af away from everything except for the one downtown
@CowboyKilla210 I would rather walk some of those distances than be an hour late with the san antonio bus. For denver not being all that, all i'm saying was it was a damn good first impression 😆
You are right that many of the problems that face downtown and its adjacent areas today were brought on by short-sighted and misinformed urban renewal policies, and that the city might be better served by rethinking how we use our car-centric facilities. Many of these policies were undertaken by COSA when it was controlled by the "Good Government League" a few decades ago, which installed city council members focused entirely on big business interests and was comprised almost entirely of white men despite claiming to serve the interests of the nation's largest majority-Hispanic city. However, you get a few things wrong about the nature of San Antonio and what its goals are. While an important part of our economy relies on tourism, more important are fields like the defense, energy, technology, and biomedical industries. You describe downtown San Antonio as "absolutely dead", which is flat out wrong. If you were to go there today, you would see a sizeable mix of tourists and residents who are there for work. Many of its parks, both old (Travis, Milam) and new (Legacy, Yanaguana) are great public spaces that serve the function of what a downtown should be. Additionally, describing the skyline as "underwhelming" is almost insulting to the history and culture of San Antonio, whose skyline - which until recently had no major glass buildings - reflects its character as a city that is meant to feel more like a large town; i.e. it was never meant to have a huge, impressive skyline. You have to get down on to the street to truly appreciate the beauty of downtown San Antonio. Additionally, COSA's focus over the past few years has been to shift towards healthy downtown development, especially through recent projects undertaken by VIA Metropolitan Transit, but that takes time and is additionally hindered by a state government that is singularly focused on highway expansion. I agree with a lot of your points on what a city should look like, but you seem to be misinformed about much of the specific circumstances of San Antonio's history and identity. Declaring that the city's future isn't bright ignores what has been and is being done to steer the city away from car-centric life in the context of a history and environment that makes doing so much easier said than done.
As a resident of San Antonio, I do agree with many of your points. However, some of your points are just plainly incorrect. Calling Downtown San Antonio “dead” is crazy. If you have been down there even once, you will know that downtown is full of life, especially during the winter. During the summer, it can reach over 100 degrees for days on end, making it hard to want to walk anywhere in that weather. Secondly, the Pearl is not “overflowing with parking” nor is it dead. The Pearl is one of the most popular districts in the city, and many parking lots you pointed out either belong to a separate business and are not affiliated either with the Pearl, or are slated for redevelopment, such as the ones across the river. Additionally, many parking lots across the central city are in the process of being redeveloped, and many new skyscrapers are a part of the parking lot redevelopments, such as 300 Main, Frost Tower, and The Thompson. Lastly, the city IS actively working towards redeveloping the HemisFair District, and is working with VIA Transit to create the first BRT line in the city.
I agree. Having worked in Downtown SA for 14 years I can say.. there’s nothing dead about it. Sure, a streamlined transit system would be appreciated, but pedestrians love the Riverwalk expansions and all the constant growth.
I think they mean dead compared to NYC or Chicago...Have you been to those cities?? Downtown SA is super dead in comparison. It's just not the draw it used to be except for Fiesta or Christmas. Also, The Pearl just made is almost impossible to park there without having to pay unless it's later in the evening.
@@rowdyruffmojo I don't think San Antonio and New York City or Chicago are really comparable here, especially considering San Antonio's metro population is only 2.7M, and NYC's is 19.5M. Additionally, both cities receive way more visitors than San Antonio yearly, making this even less comparable. And yes, I have been to both cities and I do agree that San Antonio is "dead" compared to them--but it just isn't comparable. San Antonio is still the most visited city in Texas, by the way.
San Antonio was a magical place for me as a kid just watching the street scenery from my dad driving in circles downtown lost or the weird random takes on mexican food aka tex-mex its always a magical experience as an Austinite.
I will say, as a lifelong resident of San Antonio, and a downtown worker for 3 years, you are absolutely spot on with too many surface parking lots taking up too much space in the CBD. I will say, we definitely hit rock bottom in the late 2000's when it came to downtown development. Ever since the downtown adjacent built Haven for Hope homeless treatment/shelter/campus was built, we dramatically reduced the homeless population which then has improved the safety of downtown. Back in the day, you would congregate at the touristy portion of the riverwalk and then get an uber or drive to market square and hope you aren't a target of crime especially if you parked under the overpass. To kick off a pretty much super dead downtown, we repurposed formerly abandoned office space into income-capped apartments so that lower-waged workers can live in downtown to also help it become a safer place. We also have recently built 300 on main (a mix use VERY High-End apartment complex set to be built this year) to also help solidify a current trend of people wanting to live an urban lifestyle here downtown. Especially with all the new apartments and bike infrastructure being built in the Tobin hill area (I see this on a weekly basis because my church is in that neighborhood) we are definitely improving for sure. Around the Pearl, at least three of those parking lots (the biggest ones I might say) are all underneath highway 281 so I would say that might be one of the better uses of land given that its under a highway (yes, demolishing the highway and building a boulevard with bike lanes, trees, and pedestrian walkways would be ideal but we have to work with what we're given). I'd actually say the pearl with all it's construction of newly built mix-use development that we're seeing (at least 3 massive apartment complexes with retail on the first floor) is a good sign to come. All in all, yes our urban footprint has the potential to be great, and we're doing to the best we can given a state government that is hostile to our urbanization (Broadway Street shenanigans) put giving more attention to our city about urbanization is always welcomed!
Killing? No, downtown has been improving steadily for decades. The parking lots are definitely holding it back though. San Antonio is not “dying” in any facet 😂 Every year it’s adding 40k new residents
@@ianhomerpura8937 Yes but for the first time in SA history, apartments are being built in and around downtown by the thousands of units. It’s going to take time
@@Nik-pp3qs Exactly, and if anything, I'd prefer a slow, stable, sustainable level of development over what Austin is doing. Fortunately, we have an amazing historic preservation committee in SA
You don't give the city enough credit, while San Antonio doesn't have the capital to quite yet become a walkable paradise, the city is making efforts nonetheless through the expansion of the bus network and bike lanes while replacing infrastructure that's nearly 100 years old. Unlike Austin which has seen rampant gentrification, I believe that downtown San Antonio will grow at a more sustainable rate that will better serve the needs of the city's population (I can't say the same about the suburbs though haha)
Native and current San Antonian here. With all due respect the entire premise of the video is almost totally undermined by one single factor: climate. The entire concept of a ‘walkable’ city is ill suited to a place where residents are frequently told to stay indoors for their own health and safety. Last year for example we had 75 days with highs over 100f, which says nothing of how FAR over 100, or how many days peaked at 99, or 98, etc. And unlike Phoenix for example, we hit those temps WITH 80%+ humidity. Sweating is almost totally ineffective as a physiological response to deal with it. This is a place where you can tell whose car AC is broken by who has their windows down because almost NOONE rolls their windows down by choice unless their ac is broken! Even if you could snap your fingers and double or triple public transit options (which btw get voted down democratically because not enough people want them) , the ‘last mile’ problem is almost intolerable. The Riverwalk functions because it is far below surface level (ie continuously shaded) and by mass is probably half water (spring fed ie cooler) which moderates temp change, and there is an air conditioned entryway to duck into roughly every 15 feet. Funny you should mention the tourism and hotel/convention industries because indeed thats the majority of business getting done downtown. Theres a relatively small number of native daily commuters and i dont think any natives are really clamoring to change that. Density is only aspirational for developers, government, and non-natives. People who enjoy San Antonio the way it already is value the space-per-dollar quotient and the fact that its NOT a terrible place to travel by car. Until they start air conditioning the sidewalks, dont expect this city to become a poster boy for.. pretty much anything the current generation of urban planners enjoy talking about. 🤣 Still, really interesting video, most of the data id never seen, keep up the good work generally. And as a native i recommend you NOT visit San Antonio anytime between April and October. ❤
@@PleaseDoNotDoThis I live about 1.5 mile drive from where I can get on the NW origin of the 88 route close to the Mainland trailhead and ride it downtown. Takes about 25-30 mins to get downtown. I'd much rather do that on a weekend morning then drive all the way in to downtown. I discovered the route after a trip to Chicago last year and how much I enjoyed using transit to get around.
Even if San Antonio really wants easy access for cars, it seems like a complete waste of real estate to have surface lots next to skyscrapers. There's no way the value of a parking lot is equal to the value of the apartments/parks that could fit into the same space.
San Antonio suffers from the same thing the whole country suffers from and that is poor outdated infrastructure. We are rapidly expanding but the issue is a lot of stuff is already there so its being squeezed in where it can even if it messes up roads. Best way to summarize it would be comparing it to a new Chick-fil-a tons of people like it but its built in a horrible spot and backs up traffic because they use as little land as possible.
Many of San Antonio’s problems are caused by economic factors, San Antonio has some of the highest levels of Economic segregation, this has created the fragmented landscape.
Very few people commute to downtown San Antonio for work. Most of the affluent population of San Antonio live in areas that would be nearly impossible to serve with light rail efficiently. This is a city built for cars. I live inside the city limits and I’m 14 miles from downtown. You’d need at least 5 rail lines to serve the city, and we still wouldn’t use them.
Lived in SA all my life. The pace at which shopping centers and strip malls go up on the outskirts of town is astounding. I was visiting someone on the far west side the other day, 20 miles from downtown, and saw at least two massive construction projects I hadn't seen before, clearly just strip malls. There is not even close to the same activity in the urban areas, and even when there is, it's flanked by parking infrastructure, like you mentioned with the Pearl. It makes me so sad.
Downtown San Antonio is definitely built for tourism and Fiesta. I hate going downtown for that very reason. A lot of businesses are also leaving downtown. Some that were staples. It’s truly sad. I love the history of this city but there is no history without a story. Parking lots aren’t a story. At least not one I would read. lol
Great video, but you should include the metro area population when talking about city populations. San Antonio is the 7th largest city due to its large municipal boundary, when you look at the metro area it ranks 24th. Metro areas gives a more accurate measurement of its true population served. In all larger US metros the transportation networks serves more than just a single city.
Native SA’n; currently in grad school study urban design/development and geography w/ environmental sustainability. Can’t wait to study up even more on this.
Great video and informative. As a resident, this city lacks enthusiasm to urbanize and the big wig leaders pat each other on the back for the terrible progress. Talent is lost to Austin, Houston, and Dallas. Hell, even Waco.
They paved paradise And put up a parking lot With a pink hotel *, a boutique And a swinging hot spot Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got Till it's gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot They took all the trees Put 'em in a tree museum * And they charged the people A dollar and a half just to see 'em Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got Till it's gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot Hey farmer farmer Put away that DDT * now Give me spots on my apples But leave me the birds and the bees Please! Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got Till it's gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot Late last night I heard the screen door slam And a big yellow taxi Took away my old man Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got Till it's gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot They paved paradise And put up a parking lot
A few things clear about this vid not made by a person whos been to SA. Down town is 90% tourism stuff and jobs related to that. 2nd no one wants to walk out side 6 months of year due to the heat. Also that graphic that had SA last but Austin up in green isn't fair, at least down town SA can find parting spots, Austin just has no parking and expects you to get a ride form some else for large % events down town, and is walking feels basically same, nothing extra, just way less parking. Also yes Down town SA is dead in some areas, been way for long time, all our company's along other major highways like 410/i10/1604 spread out all over the city. And SA is huge land wise and we still growing faster then new housing can be made. We have basically gained 600k people in last 15 years, and our infrastructure isn't ever going get caught up if trends stay same. Main thing, no one wants walkable city's in 105F weather, And city is 30 miles wide in most spots, And its slightly larger then LA area wise, we need cars with AC.
Why do you think SA is so much hotter than all other areas surrounding the city? When there's pavement EVERYWHERE to accommodate for parking/cars it makes a heat sink and can increase the city's inner temperature by as much as 10° more than outside the city. Having more walkable areas would also include re-greening areas with trees for shade, and make remaining exhaust from vehicles less stuffy to breathe in. I'm originally from a small town in Canada and it was far more walkable than this hellscape. There are better solutions than staying car dependent.
The zoning is awful in San Antonio, and most people don't walk since there is no shade from trees. Thus you get one of the most fattest cities in the world
Spot on-I always tell people that San Antonio has great bones....tons of old historic houses (although most are falling apart and in disrepair), great older commercial buildings, and the Riverwalk beyond downtown is one of the world's great linear parks..it's awesome what they have done. New developments like the Pearl and Broadway corridor are nice, too, but the lack of density makes the city feel sleepy and dead....it feels more alive when you are in the far north suburban fringes than downtown does. Which in my opinion sums up to- money. San Antonio is blue collar, old skool city-it doesn't have the money from large corporations/corporate offices like Dallas, Austin, and Houston have to bring in a highly paid, and highly educated workforce/residents that will drive the demand for more walkable developments (which in America, is code for "expensive gentrification"...let's just be honest about that). San Antonio is a big, south Texas TOWN...the people are small-town friendly and they work hard. It's a unique culture but from what I gather most of the residents and the city want to keep it relatively slow, sleepy, and of course, historical, for better or for worse. Only an infusion of big corporate money and the residents that will follow will speed up change...and it with it's DOD/Cybersecurity sectors and Biomed companies, that will help it change sooner than later.
Nah all the Mexicans down in SA want better buildings and Trasportation. It’s the San Antonio Conservation society that holds SA back with their laws where u can’t cast a shadow on the Alamo or other historic buildings. It’s the caucasians on San Antonio holding the city back I promise you that 💯
@@CowboyKilla210 Bro get out of here with that racist nonsense. Most of the city is blue collar. The desire for good public transport is a blue collar dream, as much as it is anything else.
I like to compare San Antonio with Monterrey(mexico) because both share history and roots, both have rivers attraction. The only sad thing is Monterrey is also very car dependent but at least metro
2:33 what a beautiful view of Centro Plaza.... I'm here to say as a bus driver in San Antonio.... that's the only time it looks that pretty. in reality, the area is swarming with homeless, drug use and mental dis orders. It's probably our least favorite place to go as a bus driver.
Okay but the river walk is an awesome urban landscape and should be replicated in every city with a river like San Antonio. And even cities without rivers And it does have public transportation, it has buses. They suck, which is why there's so much parking, but it's not like there's no public transit whatsoever
@@thetrainguy1I was trying to say that they are trying to improve with a BRT line, but it's literally 80% of the same route as the 3 and the 4, which leads me to believe that it's going to replace them. If they stick with the dedicated lanes, it _could_ work, but realistically I don't see it as much more than an expensive way to cut costs than, you know, expanding the Prímo routes. I'm absolutely certain that they'll screw it up and we'll be worse off than before.
@@JesusChrist-qs8sx Transportation in SA comes down to one thing. The price of oil. As long as gas is cheap (and under $5/ gallon is cheap) SA and other cities will have wide sprawl. People would rather have their own car than support taxes for public Transportation and investments in light rail or street cars. Only when oil/gas runs out in the US will people want to live in Denser more walkable neighborhoods. Till then there will be parking lots in downtown San Antonio, because there are no other businesses interested in the area.
San Antonio is the only city i know that has convenient parking everywhere I go. It's 100+ degrees on summer days. No one will walk. Do you live here or are you just perusing google maps?
Spot on. No one wants to walk around SanAntonio Jul-Sept. it’s hot as hell. This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Major employers like USAA and the military bases are outside the DownTown.
All pros and cons considered, I agree with you about that and I love it. I usually only ever go downtown for concerts and theatre shows every few months or so and I'm so glad I don't have to walk super far to get to and from any of the venues there because of all the reliable parking options. And considering other cities like Austin and Dallas charge upwards to $40 for chafa parking that still forces you to trek at least 5 blocks (even worse when it's at night), $10 for a secure parking garage 2 blocks away is a steal to me.
The San Antonio Conservation society holds back San Antonio. Look them up they won’t let a shadow cast on any historic buildings and they don’t want any rails thru downtown San Antonio. I blame the San Antonio Conservation society!!!!
That "gimmick" brings in millions of visitors and millions of dollars every year. Hardly a gimmick. As for the walkability, yes, there actually is a fair amount of walkability in the downtown area. BUT, what you completely ignore is the heat Texas deals with for most of the year. How many people want to walk around town when it is 95 degrees or hotter with a fair amount of humidity? Most will be okay to walk some, but by and large people want to be in comfort. Texans understand that. You also wrongly assume it was corporations that pushed auto use with no input from the consumer. That would be foolish at worse, and naïve at best. Many not from the area fail to grasp the distances traveled between cities, and the need for motorized transport, coupled with the high demand of individual freedom. Public transport is limited in scope and service under those conditions, and has been rebuffed by the public, who are very capable of self-determination.
Moved to SA last year after growing up here and moving away... dispite all the good memories i had as a kis, as an adult its impossible to enjoy the city. moving out next year.
Born and raised San Antonian, a lot of the points you bring up in this video are correct. The reasons why SA is the way it is are too complex to state in a comment or even in a TH-cam video. However, I will say that things are very slowly starting to change. There is a lot of awareness of how car-dependent the city is and people want alternatives to driving everywhere. But the system moves slow and there is a lot that needs to be “undone” from the city’s past. But it is happening slowly but surely.
#FuckThePearl brought to you by this born & raised Portland metro urbanist dork :) I remember when Portland was actually one of the worst with parking, though it was a much more split down the middle mix between Garages and surface lots, with the prior being owned by one of the Parking Garage moguls of the city. Those families have fought tooth and nail to prevent giving up their business, let alone their specific model of business, and of course their lots. They're very stuck in their ways and hate any attempts at change and reform. Seems like despite their fighting, they've slowly been losing their war.
I think the parking lots in San Antonio are a good thing. I’ve lived in other states. Where I would drive to there cities downtown only to struggle to find a place to park. San Antonio gives its tourist plenty of parking options. We park then walk around, like the millions of tourists that visit downtown San Antonio every year.
Thanks for making this video on our city :) born and raised here with roots going back to the late 1800s. Theres a fairly “easy” explanation why there’s so much parking downtown: it’s being used and people from the suburbs have no other option. Without this parking, downtown would be dead as no one would be able to visit. Another detail that keeps me and my family in the suburbs is that the San Antonio school district is one of the worst in the country. Hence, I will stick to the suburbs where the schools are highly rated. Heck many areas of downtown don’t even have public school options at all for some grades. So you are stuck with private school or move somewhere else. Last, it will be insanely difficult to implement meaningful public transit considering how spread out San Antonio is. As a fan in general of public transit, I like to pretend that San Antonio does have good public transit, what would the trip I just made look like at different levels of “ideal” public transit? Big problem is that we get 100+ degree days almost all summer. Which means any form of public transit means you will be sweating your ass off at some point. The car means I can walk out my door and be in cool AC almost instantly. I am hopeful that the pearl will continue its growth and we’ll see change come slowly but surely in the right direction. Change takes time, but I think we are on the right track.
The only real way I can see public transportation be implement to be effective is if we change the way we layout our suburbs, as the current way is inefficient and actively draining the city of money.
I've lived in San Antonio my whole life and I can count the number of times I've been downtown for occasions not related to work on both my hands. It's a totally useless downtown center to locals.
Thank you for your impeccable video. Your analysis of uninviting, uninspiring car-oriented American cities hit the nail on the head. Ubiquitous automobiles and car parks make cities neither attractive nor exciting. The most delightful cities teem with life, culture, beautiful architecture, sidewalk cafés, restaurants, parks, housing, pedestrian zones, cycling infrastructure, and good public transport. American city leaders who desire to create memorable places should visit Europe for guidance and inspiration. Who wants to sit at a café adjacent to a car park, expressway or motorway? Really! By the way, I am commenting from... glorious Middelburg in the Netherlands.
We would rather be in our cars than crammed in trains. There is a population here that want San Antonio to be more like Austin. Trains are not a good idea in a place that is consistently above 100 degrees for a minimum of 3 months a year not to mention they are as inconvenient as waiting in traffic. Waiting for a train with strangers is not many people's idea of ideal commuting. Walking 1 mile to your destination in 100 plus degree temperatures from your stop is also not many people's idea of ideal transportation. If you're not from here you'll never understand why we don't want to give up our freedom of transportation that personal vehicles bring. Texas is huge and so are the 3 major cities. Even if funding was infinite for a train system and real world obstacles were not an issue, most people would still prefer their vehicle. Small train systems through downtown areas and direct lines from downtown areas to airports make sense. Fast train lines that connect the 4 major Texas cities also make sense. The one place I will agree with you is suburban sprawl was created by the most miserable human being who wanted other human beings to be miserable. It causes sooooo much congestion, irritation and bad driving practices. Grid streets like in inner city San Antonio work well and unfortunately won't be implemented in any form of new construction because subdivisions are extremely profitable to build as opposed to conventional street layouts. All of that said, as congested as San Antonio can get, it has the best highway system in the state. Planning will never keep up with growth wherever you are and we are perpetually under construction but rush hour in the morning and afternoon are way more manageable than Houston, Dallas and Austin. Loop 410 which is the inner loop is bigger than loop 610 (Houston's inner loop) and loop 1604, our outer loop, is bigger than beltway 8 (Houston's outer loop) we also notoriously refute installation of tollways or toll roads which makes our traffic flow better than Houston or Dallas. On many occasions in Houston I've personally seen tollways in Houston that run concurrent with the highway have very little traffic while the rest of the highway is in gridlock. Two wasted lanes and extremely wide shoulders which could also be two more lanes. Our geography helps our maneuverability out quite a bit particularly compared to Houston which has to build around bayous and Austin which has to build within rolling hills and tough hill country to the west. Dallas is not necessarily gigantic on it's own but the fact that a thousand subdivision cities lay between it and Fort Worth which is only 35 miles west makes their traffic chaotic and nightmare fuel. Trains can be done in a way that complements efficient highway and roadway systems but should not be the primary mode of transportation in any city (personal opinion) they are a petri dish and an invasion of personal space. They are also high chance encounters for personal confrontation (road rage is also) that would either need to be immediately dealt with or ignored which both are not more relaxing than congestion. Many will disagree, speaking as a San Antonian who feels the way most San Antonians feel. There are plenty of places that operate train systems that are functional and efficient. My suggestion would be for anyone interested in using train transportation to move to a place that already has a system in place. Every city doesn't have to be like New York.
You complain about congestion and traffic and then say that “we would rather be in our cars”. THAT is why there is so much congestion and traffic! No one is saying that everyone has to stop driving but we have to build up other modes of transportation if we want to try to reduce traffic.
@@Nik-pp3qs The majority of congestion is caused by subdivisions. It's awful for city development. It causes many people to live in close proximity at the same time it eliminates travel routes by only having 2 to 4 thoroughfares for thousands of residents between main streets. Subdivisions increase the amount of people per square mile and force them to drive through mazes. That causes congestion.
Human congestion is worse than car congestion as well. I look at places like New York City, Tokyo, Mexico City, Chicago etc. Rather be in the metal bubble my car provides.
There is a HUGE difference between San Antonio and downtown San Antonio. Only a few tens of thousands of people live downtown, compared to 1.4 million in the city, 2.6 million in the metro area. Yes it's hard to get around downtown, but almost all homes and everyday points of interest here are elsewhere, taking just 10-15 minutes by car. Sorry that tourists have to rent cars I guess.
I’m glad I moved away from San Antonio over 10 years ago!! It doesn’t look like it’s getting any more walkable or public transportation and the highways such as loop 410 and some others have many more lanes than when I used to live there. It’s beginning to look similar to Houston Texas with the traffic comparison and the building of lanes.
Light rail has been contentious here for over 20 years. Lots of outside influence there. You really need to know the history of SA to understand why we are so far behind. We only got modern government like 20 years ago with Hardberger and Sculley. We were a cow town hence not a grid city. Most of the parking lots were built for a convention city. And you’re dead wrong, no one from SA is moving to Austin that’s funny so is calling King William “up and coming” that’s one of the oldest money hoods with crazy historic codes.
San Antonian here. I *HATE* trying to drive around downtown. I coulda walked around the Pearl Brewery before it got violated. That woulda been much more peaceful.
so much parking spaces and no one wants to use it because and it’s overpriced and everyone is scared to get towed as a local i avoid downtown as much as possible
I had to click out of this video halfway through because it hit way too close to home. I live in San Antonio, my whole life and I’ve always had these same feelings about our downtown. Time and time again, our city has voted down on any sort of rail system or allowing multi use zoning in 99% of the city.
Don't worry...San Antonio is all over King Williams and the people parking in the neighborhood, ready to use their tape measures and give as many tickets as possible...
Downtown is for tourists and conventions. The people who live here don't go downtown unless they have to. I like all that parking. When I do go downtown, it's easy to find a space close to my destination.
I'm from San Antonio and i've traveled to a few other big cites over the years and i hated that theres no parking in alot of places, i like that we have alot of parking here but yes public transportation sucks here
I ride the bus system in SA... Some areas have way better coverage than others... But yes they do need to improve public transport and definetly add some light rail
Light rail is SLOW stop thinking so lowly. Think bigger. Light rail was a mistake period. Build proper metro and NO $$$ is NOT an excuse to not do so learning to build 🚇🚇 not 🚈 GoA4 is cheaper to operate and is faster light rail is for SMALL cities not big ones
From San Antonio through and through. We’re related to the Hearts which were one of the most historic white families to settle in the area. Nowadays SA’s the poorest city in the contiguous United States. We’re also the most unhappy. There’s a bitter racial divide, and hierarchy, based on which side of the city you’re from, especially the west side. Frankly, the city’s cold and unwelcoming but it’s become so normal people won’t question it. Prejudice is a little stronger in the heart of every San Antonian. I heared a story once about how USAA (an insurance company), built a park where six flags now stands. The Rattling Rattler was the only roller coaster dating from that time. It was a giant garden set in an old quarry, and filled with native texas plants and a celebration of Fiesta. I’ve also heard we’re one of the four cultural cities of America - Boston, San Francisco, New Orleans, and yes, San Antonio. Basically the city’s a lost soul, with the audacity to have an identity crisis when it’s so obvious just how special it’s always been.
TH-cam has no shortage of video lectures about the downfall of car-centered cities and how "dense urban cores" and "walk-able cities" are the epitome of urban paradise. But nobody ever makes a compelling case for WHY. In fact, your entire video seems to take on the perspective that we the listener, already agree with your thesis rather than making a compelling argument for it. You've clearly identified that the city IS car dependent, and the downtown area IS a giant tourist trap and parking lot. However, you've failed to explain why that is a bad thing. Urban sprawl is quite literally the economic force behind Texas cities being affordable still. Go look at every major city that has build UP rather than out and what do you see? Incredibly expensive property values. Texas cities allow you to buy a suburban dream home for 350,000.00 on a single blue collar income. By contrast, 100% of the "walkable, lively urban centers" are price prohibitive for most people under 45 years old. I like driving my vehicle. I like being able to go where I want WHEN I want it. I like owning a home and also not being crushed under the mortgage. I have no reason to be in downtown, therefore I feel no sorrow or FOMO. I am not missing out on anything by not being downtown. I'll take sitting in my own air conditioned vehicle for 12 mins to go to dinner versus getting knifed on the subway in Nyc or spit on by a terrorist in London any day. I'll take my greenspaces, trees, parks and ponds over your reported paradisical concrete jungle any day of the week. San Antonio has never advertised these things. If that is what you're looking for, go check out manhattan.
No one is saying you have to give up driving. There are plenty of places in San Antonio where you can drive all day. Go live there. This is about downtown. You claim to have “no reason” to be downtown, you aren’t missing out, blah blah blah-then why are you so opinionated on how it should be planned? Oh wait, you think “getting knifed” and spit on by a “terrorist” is the average public transportation experience. That tells me all I need to know. You are just scared. Go live in the safe suburbs and watch your TV news and leave the city planning to the people who aren’t afraid to walk down the street.
@@Nik-pp3qs 1. I never said that anyone claimed that I had to give up driving. 2. I don't need to justify why I have an opinion about downtown. I just do. You'll get over it. 3. You want me to "leave the city planning" to someone like you who cannot even properly convey their own sentiments in a comment box? You're not even able to articulate enough to tell me what I am incorrect about. But you're a city planner? Doubt. Would you like to try again on this comment and make a cogent point?
@@CTJM_Middleton Not true at all. San Antonio is not a reflection of other Texas cities and the progress being made. Dallas is rapidly urbanizing and downtown itself is not the total extent of that urbanization. Dallas has multiple urban core neighborhoods that are densifying. Uptown Dallas, Victory Park, Downtown, Turtle Creek, etc have merged into a single urbanized area with streetcars and light rail.
@@1TewBuMyShoe only a few neighborhoods...compared to the whole size of the metroplex? and only if you're privileged enough to live in the area can you enjoy all of that?
Unfortunately you’re correct. I’m a San Antonio, native and it’s impossible to enjoy this great city without a personal vehicle. Our one (1 😑) form of transportation sucks. The buses barely run on time and forget trying to get anywhere on the weekends with them. Several of our recent politicians have done well to densify downtown with housing but most of it has simply been new developments by the Pearl and bordering Southtown. Our downtown has so much opportunity but our city planners have been addicted to car centric sprawl for so long. Until San Antonio gets some better public transit we will continue to lag behind our other large cities in Texas.
With Red McComb gone, maybe we'll see some progress on public transit.
Sadly VIA thinks it has to turn a profit despite being tax supported and won't go anywhere that doesn't already have heavy demand
The worst part about the parking is that it's pretty much all paid. I never go downtown because I'm not spending $10-20 on parking if I want to watch a movie in Imax or visit an eatery.
They validate parking at the theater. You're not wrong just also thought you'd like to know.
Born, raised, and live in San Antonio, and you're right on here. Downtown is totally dead if you compare it to basically any other half-decent urban city, and the city doesn't care. It's a shame because there are part of it that are really special, and the people and culture of San Antonio are truly unique and special. But they make it as hard as possible to actually easily enjoy these things because they want you to pay at least $10 just for the privilege of getting there, whether it be Uber or parking. In what is primarily a working class city, that's not nothing
Nah. Not “Born, raised, and live in San Antonio, and you're right on here.” Not “Downtown is totally dead if you compare it to basically any other half-decent urban city, and the city doesn’t care.” /
Same i was born and raised in the far west side area and the only live area of san Antonio is near the Riverwalk. When i moved to Houston later the city actually feels alive with lots of night life and people out having a good time.
Everywhere outside of the Riverwalk just looks like a car dependent wasteland.
The worst part is that that's the best part of town in terms of walkability by a wide margin. No groceries stores except one H-E-B on the outskirts and a transplant bodega from ATX, but you could get by fairly easily downtown if all you do for food is dine out.
Every other area outside of a few enclaves like King William or a bit of Alamo Heights is completely unwalkable by urbanist standards. I've just gotten used to hiking thirty or more minutes for so long for so many things that I'm not phased by much that San Antonio does against pedestrians anymore. I just ruck and treat it as leg day.
From what I've seen downtown is pretty lively (in terms of businesses not people walking around) It just doesn't seem like it, as its hot as hell this far south. Now imagine that heat combined with a lot concrete and asphalt it becomes really hot.
@@CeoMacNCheese The riverwalk is lively, albeit less so than before COVID, but there are parts of downtown that are just abandoned buildings mostly and are hurting. And like you said, foot traffic can be lacking
I am from San Antonio and I want to say a lot of people are getting defensive in the comments, but I will be honest it does suck to live in San Antonio sometimes because everything is so spread out and the urban sprawl is kind of ridiculous. But the people here are amazing and I think that’s what makes it’s ten times more difficult to be stuck in a city of amazing people with nothing to do.
San Antonio everything is 20 mins away at most.
Houston you're an hour away from the next neighborhood over.
Chicago takes even longer to cross.
Phoenix you drive for two hours in one direction and you're still in phoenix.
Please move if you’re bored.
A lot of the downtown lots are being bought by Urban Weston which built the Frost Tower, 300 Main, Continental Apartments which are being constructed right now. Downtown lots are starting to disappear bit by bit. Downtown streets are literally closed due to construction on a good portion of the streets. I work downtown, I’m here everyday. I see what’s going on and it’s a positive sign.
I live here, and your video is spot on. There are a few sections near downtown that are walkable, and they're actually doing a lot to improve cycling infrastructure connecting downtown, but there is no political will to get better public transportation.
Public transit is unaffordable and must be tax payer subsidized. Apparently, San Antonioans don't want to pay for it. These are not the late 1900s when horses were very expensive to own, feed and stable(house).
@@TexMarque highway expansion is also unaffordable and we the people are also paying for the unnecessary expansions.
@@TexMarque Roads are also highly subsidized. The "road tax" does not pay for all the cost to maintain roads. Making the argument than paying for you to travel by personal vehicle vs subsiding a public good of transit is not the same.
@@TexMarqueAt least the horse could be my friend, didn't spy on me, and would be cool as heck riding down Houston or Commerce. Plus, as expensive as many things have gotten over the past few years, feed is cheaper than gas.
While being a NATIVE to San Antonio I agree there is so much parking, however a sports district is being made , highway caps, and rapid transit ! We have the mccombs development which will bring thousands of units downtown, as well as the pearl doubling in size, and the Southtown district which is similar to the pearl along the a river stretch is also doubling in size, we have lots of ways to go but we have some council members and lots of passionate residents voicing their concerns for change and adaptation
As someone who hasn't left san antonio for a long time when I visited Colorado, I was in awe because denver is super walkable while keeping the traffic through the streets.
What's the difference between SA and Denver in the summer? About 30 degrees of blistering heat? That's why SA isn't a walkable city, no one wants to in the summer.
@@s.n.9485 still dosent explain why there is no lightrail, tram, or hell, even a good bus system.
I used to live in Denver and I am from the South side of SA. Denver is not all that believe me. The only thing they got is the train but the train stops be far af away from everything except for the one downtown
@CowboyKilla210 I would rather walk some of those distances than be an hour late with the san antonio bus. For denver not being all that, all i'm saying was it was a damn good first impression 😆
Please move there, enjoy the weed.
at least parking lots are easy enough to infill. that’d be a great place to start even if the parking structures will be around for a lot longer!
You are right that many of the problems that face downtown and its adjacent areas today were brought on by short-sighted and misinformed urban renewal policies, and that the city might be better served by rethinking how we use our car-centric facilities. Many of these policies were undertaken by COSA when it was controlled by the "Good Government League" a few decades ago, which installed city council members focused entirely on big business interests and was comprised almost entirely of white men despite claiming to serve the interests of the nation's largest majority-Hispanic city. However, you get a few things wrong about the nature of San Antonio and what its goals are. While an important part of our economy relies on tourism, more important are fields like the defense, energy, technology, and biomedical industries. You describe downtown San Antonio as "absolutely dead", which is flat out wrong. If you were to go there today, you would see a sizeable mix of tourists and residents who are there for work. Many of its parks, both old (Travis, Milam) and new (Legacy, Yanaguana) are great public spaces that serve the function of what a downtown should be. Additionally, describing the skyline as "underwhelming" is almost insulting to the history and culture of San Antonio, whose skyline - which until recently had no major glass buildings - reflects its character as a city that is meant to feel more like a large town; i.e. it was never meant to have a huge, impressive skyline. You have to get down on to the street to truly appreciate the beauty of downtown San Antonio. Additionally, COSA's focus over the past few years has been to shift towards healthy downtown development, especially through recent projects undertaken by VIA Metropolitan Transit, but that takes time and is additionally hindered by a state government that is singularly focused on highway expansion. I agree with a lot of your points on what a city should look like, but you seem to be misinformed about much of the specific circumstances of San Antonio's history and identity. Declaring that the city's future isn't bright ignores what has been and is being done to steer the city away from car-centric life in the context of a history and environment that makes doing so much easier said than done.
As a resident of San Antonio, I do agree with many of your points. However, some of your points are just plainly incorrect. Calling Downtown San Antonio “dead” is crazy. If you have been down there even once, you will know that downtown is full of life, especially during the winter. During the summer, it can reach over 100 degrees for days on end, making it hard to want to walk anywhere in that weather. Secondly, the Pearl is not “overflowing with parking” nor is it dead. The Pearl is one of the most popular districts in the city, and many parking lots you pointed out either belong to a separate business and are not affiliated either with the Pearl, or are slated for redevelopment, such as the ones across the river. Additionally, many parking lots across the central city are in the process of being redeveloped, and many new skyscrapers are a part of the parking lot redevelopments, such as 300 Main, Frost Tower, and The Thompson. Lastly, the city IS actively working towards redeveloping the HemisFair District, and is working with VIA Transit to create the first BRT line in the city.
I agree. Having worked in Downtown SA for 14 years I can say.. there’s nothing dead about it. Sure, a streamlined transit system would be appreciated, but pedestrians love the Riverwalk expansions and all the constant growth.
I think they mean dead compared to NYC or Chicago...Have you been to those cities?? Downtown SA is super dead in comparison. It's just not the draw it used to be except for Fiesta or Christmas. Also, The Pearl just made is almost impossible to park there without having to pay unless it's later in the evening.
@@rowdyruffmojo I don't think San Antonio and New York City or Chicago are really comparable here, especially considering San Antonio's metro population is only 2.7M, and NYC's is 19.5M. Additionally, both cities receive way more visitors than San Antonio yearly, making this even less comparable. And yes, I have been to both cities and I do agree that San Antonio is "dead" compared to them--but it just isn't comparable. San Antonio is still the most visited city in Texas, by the way.
@Biolecent most visited city in Texas? that's a lot of disappointment hehe
San Antonio was a magical place for me as a kid just watching the street scenery from my dad driving in circles downtown lost or the weird random takes on mexican food aka tex-mex its always a magical experience as an Austinite.
I will say, as a lifelong resident of San Antonio, and a downtown worker for 3 years, you are absolutely spot on with too many surface parking lots taking up too much space in the CBD. I will say, we definitely hit rock bottom in the late 2000's when it came to downtown development. Ever since the downtown adjacent built Haven for Hope homeless treatment/shelter/campus was built, we dramatically reduced the homeless population which then has improved the safety of downtown. Back in the day, you would congregate at the touristy portion of the riverwalk and then get an uber or drive to market square and hope you aren't a target of crime especially if you parked under the overpass. To kick off a pretty much super dead downtown, we repurposed formerly abandoned office space into income-capped apartments so that lower-waged workers can live in downtown to also help it become a safer place. We also have recently built 300 on main (a mix use VERY High-End apartment complex set to be built this year) to also help solidify a current trend of people wanting to live an urban lifestyle here downtown. Especially with all the new apartments and bike infrastructure being built in the Tobin hill area (I see this on a weekly basis because my church is in that neighborhood) we are definitely improving for sure. Around the Pearl, at least three of those parking lots (the biggest ones I might say) are all underneath highway 281 so I would say that might be one of the better uses of land given that its under a highway (yes, demolishing the highway and building a boulevard with bike lanes, trees, and pedestrian walkways would be ideal but we have to work with what we're given). I'd actually say the pearl with all it's construction of newly built mix-use development that we're seeing (at least 3 massive apartment complexes with retail on the first floor) is a good sign to come. All in all, yes our urban footprint has the potential to be great, and we're doing to the best we can given a state government that is hostile to our urbanization (Broadway Street shenanigans) put giving more attention to our city about urbanization is always welcomed!
Killing? No, downtown has been improving steadily for decades. The parking lots are definitely holding it back though. San Antonio is not “dying” in any facet 😂 Every year it’s adding 40k new residents
Most of those new people live in the sprawling suburbs
@@ianhomerpura8937 Yes but for the first time in SA history, apartments are being built in and around downtown by the thousands of units. It’s going to take time
You are correct. Downtown is slowly improving. Just because we’re not building at breakneck pace like Austin doesn’t mean we’re in decline.
@@Nik-pp3qs Exactly, and if anything, I'd prefer a slow, stable, sustainable level of development over what Austin is doing. Fortunately, we have an amazing historic preservation committee in SA
You don't give the city enough credit, while San Antonio doesn't have the capital to quite yet become a walkable paradise, the city is making efforts nonetheless through the expansion of the bus network and bike lanes while replacing infrastructure that's nearly 100 years old. Unlike Austin which has seen rampant gentrification, I believe that downtown San Antonio will grow at a more sustainable rate that will better serve the needs of the city's population (I can't say the same about the suburbs though haha)
Native and current San Antonian here. With all due respect the entire premise of the video is almost totally undermined by one single factor: climate. The entire concept of a ‘walkable’ city is ill suited to a place where residents are frequently told to stay indoors for their own health and safety. Last year for example we had 75 days with highs over 100f, which says nothing of how FAR over 100, or how many days peaked at 99, or 98, etc. And unlike Phoenix for example, we hit those temps WITH 80%+ humidity. Sweating is almost totally ineffective as a physiological response to deal with it. This is a place where you can tell whose car AC is broken by who has their windows down because almost NOONE rolls their windows down by choice unless their ac is broken! Even if you could snap your fingers and double or triple public transit options (which btw get voted down democratically because not enough people want them) , the ‘last mile’ problem is almost intolerable. The Riverwalk functions because it is far below surface level (ie continuously shaded) and by mass is probably half water (spring fed ie cooler) which moderates temp change, and there is an air conditioned entryway to duck into roughly every 15 feet. Funny you should mention the tourism and hotel/convention industries because indeed thats the majority of business getting done downtown. Theres a relatively small number of native daily commuters and i dont think any natives are really clamoring to change that. Density is only aspirational for developers, government, and non-natives. People who enjoy San Antonio the way it already is value the space-per-dollar quotient and the fact that its NOT a terrible place to travel by car. Until they start air conditioning the sidewalks, dont expect this city to become a poster boy for.. pretty much anything the current generation of urban planners enjoy talking about. 🤣 Still, really interesting video, most of the data id never seen, keep up the good work generally. And as a native i recommend you NOT visit San Antonio anytime between April and October. ❤
Here in San Antonio, you go everywhere else but downtown to have fun.
This is true cause the first think about is “damn I have to find parking”
@@mikenike4266 Ironically taking a VIA bus downtown is much less a hassle than driving downtown.
@@PleaseDoNotDoThis I live about 1.5 mile drive from where I can get on the NW origin of the 88 route close to the Mainland trailhead and ride it downtown. Takes about 25-30 mins to get downtown. I'd much rather do that on a weekend morning then drive all the way in to downtown. I discovered the route after a trip to Chicago last year and how much I enjoyed using transit to get around.
@@PleaseDoNotDoThis from my house on the far west side, it takes 2 hours to get to downtown via VIA.
@@PleaseDoNotDoThisunfortunately it would take me 1hr and 37 minutes to get to the Majestic using via from my house on the NE side.
Even if San Antonio really wants easy access for cars, it seems like a complete waste of real estate to have surface lots next to skyscrapers.
There's no way the value of a parking lot is equal to the value of the apartments/parks that could fit into the same space.
Clearly there is. The market doesnt lie lol
San Antonio suffers from the same thing the whole country suffers from and that is poor outdated infrastructure. We are rapidly expanding but the issue is a lot of stuff is already there so its being squeezed in where it can even if it messes up roads. Best way to summarize it would be comparing it to a new Chick-fil-a tons of people like it but its built in a horrible spot and backs up traffic because they use as little land as possible.
Many of San Antonio’s problems are caused by economic factors, San Antonio has some of the highest levels of Economic segregation, this has created the fragmented landscape.
Very few people commute to downtown San Antonio for work. Most of the affluent population of San Antonio live in areas that would be nearly impossible to serve with light rail efficiently. This is a city built for cars. I live inside the city limits and I’m 14 miles from downtown. You’d need at least 5 rail lines to serve the city, and we still wouldn’t use them.
Im ok with people leaving SA, I grew up here and traffic has gotten horrible. All the Californian transplants can go to Austin for all I care
I live in a West TX city, and from what I have seen, I think the whole state is hopeless when it comes to urbanism!!!
Correct
Austin has done a fantastic job with urbanization in relation to the other big cities in TX.
@@r33th COOL!
@@r33thlol they can’t even keep their locals all moving to San Antonio
so much parking but no free parking
👍
Lived in SA all my life. The pace at which shopping centers and strip malls go up on the outskirts of town is astounding. I was visiting someone on the far west side the other day, 20 miles from downtown, and saw at least two massive construction projects I hadn't seen before, clearly just strip malls. There is not even close to the same activity in the urban areas, and even when there is, it's flanked by parking infrastructure, like you mentioned with the Pearl. It makes me so sad.
Downtown San Antonio is definitely built for tourism and Fiesta. I hate going downtown for that very reason. A lot of businesses are also leaving downtown. Some that were staples. It’s truly sad. I love the history of this city but there is no history without a story. Parking lots aren’t a story. At least not one I would read. lol
If you don’t like San Antonio or have a car … leave. The bus runs 24/7
Great video, but you should include the metro area population when talking about city populations. San Antonio is the 7th largest city due to its large municipal boundary, when you look at the metro area it ranks 24th. Metro areas gives a more accurate measurement of its true population served. In all larger US metros the transportation networks serves more than just a single city.
Wow I thought you had like 100K subscribers, really high quality content here
Thanks! Hope one day i’ll get there :)
Native SA’n; currently in grad school study urban design/development and geography w/ environmental sustainability. Can’t wait to study up even more on this.
Great video and informative. As a resident, this city lacks enthusiasm to urbanize and the big wig leaders pat each other on the back for the terrible progress. Talent is lost to Austin, Houston, and Dallas. Hell, even Waco.
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel *, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum *
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey farmer farmer
Put away that DDT * now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Late last night
I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
A few things clear about this vid not made by a person whos been to SA. Down town is 90% tourism stuff and jobs related to that. 2nd no one wants to walk out side 6 months of year due to the heat. Also that graphic that had SA last but Austin up in green isn't fair, at least down town SA can find parting spots, Austin just has no parking and expects you to get a ride form some else for large % events down town, and is walking feels basically same, nothing extra, just way less parking. Also yes Down town SA is dead in some areas, been way for long time, all our company's along other major highways like 410/i10/1604 spread out all over the city. And SA is huge land wise and we still growing faster then new housing can be made. We have basically gained 600k people in last 15 years, and our infrastructure isn't ever going get caught up if trends stay same.
Main thing, no one wants walkable city's in 105F weather, And city is 30 miles wide in most spots, And its slightly larger then LA area wise, we need cars with AC.
Why do you think SA is so much hotter than all other areas surrounding the city? When there's pavement EVERYWHERE to accommodate for parking/cars it makes a heat sink and can increase the city's inner temperature by as much as 10° more than outside the city. Having more walkable areas would also include re-greening areas with trees for shade, and make remaining exhaust from vehicles less stuffy to breathe in. I'm originally from a small town in Canada and it was far more walkable than this hellscape. There are better solutions than staying car dependent.
The zoning is awful in San Antonio, and most people don't walk since there is no shade from trees. Thus you get one of the most fattest cities in the world
Spot on-I always tell people that San Antonio has great bones....tons of old historic houses (although most are falling apart and in disrepair), great older commercial buildings, and the Riverwalk beyond downtown is one of the world's great linear parks..it's awesome what they have done. New developments like the Pearl and Broadway corridor are nice, too, but the lack of density makes the city feel sleepy and dead....it feels more alive when you are in the far north suburban fringes than downtown does. Which in my opinion sums up to- money. San Antonio is blue collar, old skool city-it doesn't have the money from large corporations/corporate offices like Dallas, Austin, and Houston have to bring in a highly paid, and highly educated workforce/residents that will drive the demand for more walkable developments (which in America, is code for "expensive gentrification"...let's just be honest about that). San Antonio is a big, south Texas TOWN...the people are small-town friendly and they work hard. It's a unique culture but from what I gather most of the residents and the city want to keep it relatively slow, sleepy, and of course, historical, for better or for worse. Only an infusion of big corporate money and the residents that will follow will speed up change...and it with it's DOD/Cybersecurity sectors and Biomed companies, that will help it change sooner than later.
The city can do so much by just investing more in improving buses
@@BloodRider1914 Yeah, you think a car dependant society could make a good bus system, but no.
Nah all the Mexicans down in SA want better buildings and Trasportation. It’s the San Antonio Conservation society that holds SA back with their laws where u can’t cast a shadow on the Alamo or other historic buildings. It’s the caucasians on San Antonio holding the city back I promise you that 💯
@@CowboyKilla210 Bro get out of here with that racist nonsense. Most of the city is blue collar. The desire for good public transport is a blue collar dream, as much as it is anything else.
At the very least, lets convert some surface level parking to parking garages and convert the rest to actual things people want to walk around.
My sister lives in San Antonio & she described downtown as a parking lot with a small river running through it
Native Texan, Downtown SA is a cesspool. Austin is a bigger cesspool- don’t blame parking.
I like to compare San Antonio with Monterrey(mexico) because both share history and roots, both have rivers attraction.
The only sad thing is Monterrey is also very car dependent but at least metro
2:33 what a beautiful view of Centro Plaza.... I'm here to say as a bus driver in San Antonio.... that's the only time it looks that pretty. in reality, the area is swarming with homeless, drug use and mental dis orders. It's probably our least favorite place to go as a bus driver.
Okay but the river walk is an awesome urban landscape and should be replicated in every city with a river like San Antonio. And even cities without rivers
And it does have public transportation, it has buses. They suck, which is why there's so much parking, but it's not like there's no public transit whatsoever
So .... That's a terrible reason to not make public transportation better. It sucks because they want it to suck.
@@thetrainguy1I was trying to say that they are trying to improve with a BRT line, but it's literally 80% of the same route as the 3 and the 4, which leads me to believe that it's going to replace them. If they stick with the dedicated lanes, it _could_ work, but realistically I don't see it as much more than an expensive way to cut costs than, you know, expanding the Prímo routes.
I'm absolutely certain that they'll screw it up and we'll be worse off than before.
@@JesusChrist-qs8sx Transportation in SA comes down to one thing. The price of oil. As long as gas is cheap (and under $5/ gallon is cheap) SA and other cities will have wide sprawl. People would rather have their own car than support taxes for public Transportation and investments in light rail or street cars. Only when oil/gas runs out in the US will people want to live in Denser more walkable neighborhoods. Till then there will be parking lots in downtown San Antonio, because there are no other businesses interested in the area.
San Antonio is the only city i know that has convenient parking everywhere I go. It's 100+ degrees on summer days. No one will walk. Do you live here or are you just perusing google maps?
Spot on. No one wants to walk around SanAntonio Jul-Sept. it’s hot as hell. This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Major employers like USAA and the military bases are outside the DownTown.
All pros and cons considered, I agree with you about that and I love it. I usually only ever go downtown for concerts and theatre shows every few months or so and I'm so glad I don't have to walk super far to get to and from any of the venues there because of all the reliable parking options. And considering other cities like Austin and Dallas charge upwards to $40 for chafa parking that still forces you to trek at least 5 blocks (even worse when it's at night), $10 for a secure parking garage 2 blocks away is a steal to me.
convenient if you want to pay 20 or 30 bucks for a couple hours...otherise you gotta part further out and walk into downtown.
@@rowdyruffmojo then park at park and ride and take via in.
@kevinweber5129 that's ultra inconvenient because that requires more time planning.
The San Antonio Conservation society holds back San Antonio. Look them up they won’t let a shadow cast on any historic buildings and they don’t want any rails thru downtown San Antonio. I blame the San Antonio Conservation society!!!!
I swear I thought the new building at the downtown park was like a apartment complex or hotel
NOPE it’s a fucking parking lot
That "gimmick" brings in millions of visitors and millions of dollars every year. Hardly a gimmick. As for the walkability, yes, there actually is a fair amount of walkability in the downtown area. BUT, what you completely ignore is the heat Texas deals with for most of the year. How many people want to walk around town when it is 95 degrees or hotter with a fair amount of humidity? Most will be okay to walk some, but by and large people want to be in comfort. Texans understand that. You also wrongly assume it was corporations that pushed auto use with no input from the consumer. That would be foolish at worse, and naïve at best. Many not from the area fail to grasp the distances traveled between cities, and the need for motorized transport, coupled with the high demand of individual freedom. Public transport is limited in scope and service under those conditions, and has been rebuffed by the public, who are very capable of self-determination.
Moved to SA last year after growing up here and moving away... dispite all the good memories i had as a kis, as an adult its impossible to enjoy the city. moving out next year.
Go to Austin 😂
It’s a love hate relationship. Downtown is dead, but we got great food!!
And terrible insurance rates.
Born and raised San Antonian, a lot of the points you bring up in this video are correct. The reasons why SA is the way it is are too complex to state in a comment or even in a TH-cam video. However, I will say that things are very slowly starting to change. There is a lot of awareness of how car-dependent the city is and people want alternatives to driving everywhere. But the system moves slow and there is a lot that needs to be “undone” from the city’s past. But it is happening slowly but surely.
A few years back I heard that downtown Ft. Worth had a major parking garage that was free! Why can't we do something like that in SA??
#FuckThePearl brought to you by this born & raised Portland metro urbanist dork :) I remember when Portland was actually one of the worst with parking, though it was a much more split down the middle mix between Garages and surface lots, with the prior being owned by one of the Parking Garage moguls of the city. Those families have fought tooth and nail to prevent giving up their business, let alone their specific model of business, and of course their lots. They're very stuck in their ways and hate any attempts at change and reform. Seems like despite their fighting, they've slowly been losing their war.
Whaaaaaaaa! To much parking 😂
Build metro use parking lots for new station locations NOT LRT!!!!! Speed is important
I think the parking lots in San Antonio are a good thing. I’ve lived in other states. Where I would drive to there cities downtown only to struggle to find a place to park. San Antonio gives its tourist plenty of parking options. We park then walk around, like the millions of tourists that visit downtown San Antonio every year.
Thanks for making this video on our city :) born and raised here with roots going back to the late 1800s.
Theres a fairly “easy” explanation why there’s so much parking downtown: it’s being used and people from the suburbs have no other option.
Without this parking, downtown would be dead as no one would be able to visit.
Another detail that keeps me and my family in the suburbs is that the San Antonio school district is one of the worst in the country. Hence, I will stick to the suburbs where the schools are highly rated. Heck many areas of downtown don’t even have public school options at all for some grades. So you are stuck with private school or move somewhere else.
Last, it will be insanely difficult to implement meaningful public transit considering how spread out San Antonio is. As a fan in general of public transit, I like to pretend that San Antonio does have good public transit, what would the trip I just made look like at different levels of “ideal” public transit? Big problem is that we get 100+ degree days almost all summer. Which means any form of public transit means you will be sweating your ass off at some point. The car means I can walk out my door and be in cool AC almost instantly.
I am hopeful that the pearl will continue its growth and we’ll see change come slowly but surely in the right direction. Change takes time, but I think we are on the right track.
The only real way I can see public transportation be implement to be effective is if we change the way we layout our suburbs, as the current way is inefficient and actively draining the city of money.
I've lived in San Antonio my whole life and I can count the number of times I've been downtown for occasions not related to work on both my hands. It's a totally useless downtown center to locals.
Thank you for your impeccable video. Your analysis of uninviting, uninspiring car-oriented American cities hit the nail on the head. Ubiquitous automobiles and car parks make cities neither attractive nor exciting. The most delightful cities teem with life, culture, beautiful architecture, sidewalk cafés, restaurants, parks, housing, pedestrian zones, cycling infrastructure, and good public transport. American city leaders who desire to create memorable places should visit Europe for guidance and inspiration. Who wants to sit at a café adjacent to a car park, expressway or motorway? Really! By the way, I am commenting from... glorious Middelburg in the Netherlands.
They should at least visit Canada, or any other city in America with more walkability.
@@highway2heaven91 I fear that the Canadians have made the same mistakes as the Americans. Nonetheless, Toronto and Vancouver are exceptional.
@@marcelmoulin3335So are Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Charleston, Savannah, and Washington D.C, but I get your point.
Didn’t the city turn down ideas from Elon / Boring company to do a underground tunnel from airport to downtown?
Beacon Hill as "up and coming" is hilarious
We would rather be in our cars than crammed in trains. There is a population here that want San Antonio to be more like Austin. Trains are not a good idea in a place that is consistently above 100 degrees for a minimum of 3 months a year not to mention they are as inconvenient as waiting in traffic. Waiting for a train with strangers is not many people's idea of ideal commuting. Walking 1 mile to your destination in 100 plus degree temperatures from your stop is also not many people's idea of ideal transportation. If you're not from here you'll never understand why we don't want to give up our freedom of transportation that personal vehicles bring. Texas is huge and so are the 3 major cities. Even if funding was infinite for a train system and real world obstacles were not an issue, most people would still prefer their vehicle. Small train systems through downtown areas and direct lines from downtown areas to airports make sense. Fast train lines that connect the 4 major Texas cities also make sense. The one place I will agree with you is suburban sprawl was created by the most miserable human being who wanted other human beings to be miserable. It causes sooooo much congestion, irritation and bad driving practices. Grid streets like in inner city San Antonio work well and unfortunately won't be implemented in any form of new construction because subdivisions are extremely profitable to build as opposed to conventional street layouts. All of that said, as congested as San Antonio can get, it has the best highway system in the state. Planning will never keep up with growth wherever you are and we are perpetually under construction but rush hour in the morning and afternoon are way more manageable than Houston, Dallas and Austin. Loop 410 which is the inner loop is bigger than loop 610 (Houston's inner loop) and loop 1604, our outer loop, is bigger than beltway 8 (Houston's outer loop) we also notoriously refute installation of tollways or toll roads which makes our traffic flow better than Houston or Dallas. On many occasions in Houston I've personally seen tollways in Houston that run concurrent with the highway have very little traffic while the rest of the highway is in gridlock. Two wasted lanes and extremely wide shoulders which could also be two more lanes. Our geography helps our maneuverability out quite a bit particularly compared to Houston which has to build around bayous and Austin which has to build within rolling hills and tough hill country to the west. Dallas is not necessarily gigantic on it's own but the fact that a thousand subdivision cities lay between it and Fort Worth which is only 35 miles west makes their traffic chaotic and nightmare fuel. Trains can be done in a way that complements efficient highway and roadway systems but should not be the primary mode of transportation in any city (personal opinion) they are a petri dish and an invasion of personal space. They are also high chance encounters for personal confrontation (road rage is also) that would either need to be immediately dealt with or ignored which both are not more relaxing than congestion. Many will disagree, speaking as a San Antonian who feels the way most San Antonians feel. There are plenty of places that operate train systems that are functional and efficient. My suggestion would be for anyone interested in using train transportation to move to a place that already has a system in place. Every city doesn't have to be like New York.
You complain about congestion and traffic and then say that “we would rather be in our cars”. THAT is why there is so much congestion and traffic! No one is saying that everyone has to stop driving but we have to build up other modes of transportation if we want to try to reduce traffic.
@@Nik-pp3qs The majority of congestion is caused by subdivisions. It's awful for city development. It causes many people to live in close proximity at the same time it eliminates travel routes by only having 2 to 4 thoroughfares for thousands of residents between main streets. Subdivisions increase the amount of people per square mile and force them to drive through mazes. That causes congestion.
Human congestion is worse than car congestion as well. I look at places like New York City, Tokyo, Mexico City, Chicago etc. Rather be in the metal bubble my car provides.
There is a HUGE difference between San Antonio and downtown San Antonio. Only a few tens of thousands of people live downtown, compared to 1.4 million in the city, 2.6 million in the metro area. Yes it's hard to get around downtown, but almost all homes and everyday points of interest here are elsewhere, taking just 10-15 minutes by car. Sorry that tourists have to rent cars I guess.
I’m glad I moved away from San Antonio over 10 years ago!! It doesn’t look like it’s getting any more walkable or public transportation and the highways such as loop 410 and some others have many more lanes than when I used to live there. It’s beginning to look similar to Houston Texas with the traffic comparison and the building of lanes.
Light rail has been contentious here for over 20 years. Lots of outside influence there. You really need to know the history of SA to understand why we are so far behind. We only got modern government like 20 years ago with Hardberger and Sculley. We were a cow town hence not a grid city. Most of the parking lots were built for a convention city. And you’re dead wrong, no one from SA is moving to Austin that’s funny so is calling King William “up and coming” that’s one of the oldest money hoods with crazy historic codes.
San Antonian here. I *HATE* trying to drive around downtown.
I coulda walked around the Pearl Brewery before it got violated. That woulda been much more peaceful.
so much parking spaces and no one wants to use it because and it’s overpriced and everyone is scared to get towed as a local i avoid downtown as much as possible
No mention of VIA Metropolitan Transit?
I had to click out of this video halfway through because it hit way too close to home. I live in San Antonio, my whole life and I’ve always had these same feelings about our downtown. Time and time again, our city has voted down on any sort of rail system or allowing multi use zoning in 99% of the city.
Of course there’s a ton of parking options. People aren’t going to drive to a place that they can’t park.
Don't worry...San Antonio is all over King Williams and the people parking in the neighborhood, ready to use their tape measures and give as many tickets as possible...
Downtown is for tourists and conventions. The people who live here don't go downtown unless they have to. I like all that parking. When I do go downtown, it's easy to find a space close to my destination.
Half of them are closed during big events like Fiesta.
I'm from San Antonio and i've traveled to a few other big cites over the years and i hated that theres no parking in alot of places, i like that we have alot of parking here but yes public transportation sucks here
I ride the bus system in SA... Some areas have way better coverage than others... But yes they do need to improve public transport and definetly add some light rail
Light rail is SLOW stop thinking so lowly. Think bigger. Light rail was a mistake period. Build proper metro and NO $$$ is NOT an excuse to not do so learning to build 🚇🚇 not 🚈 GoA4 is cheaper to operate and is faster light rail is for SMALL cities not big ones
@@qjtvaddictOk
@@qjtvaddictok
is the river walk fun? Looks fun
New subscriber from Ontario! 🇨🇦
But no park and ride at the Amtrak Station 😅
great video
From San Antonio through and through. We’re related to the Hearts which were one of the most historic white families to settle in the area. Nowadays SA’s the poorest city in the contiguous United States. We’re also the most unhappy. There’s a bitter racial divide, and hierarchy, based on which side of the city you’re from, especially the west side. Frankly, the city’s cold and unwelcoming but it’s become so normal people won’t question it. Prejudice is a little stronger in the heart of every San Antonian.
I heared a story once about how USAA (an insurance company), built a park where six flags now stands. The Rattling Rattler was the only roller coaster dating from that time. It was a giant garden set in an old quarry, and filled with native texas plants and a celebration of Fiesta. I’ve also heard we’re one of the four cultural cities of America - Boston, San Francisco, New Orleans, and yes, San Antonio. Basically the city’s a lost soul, with the audacity to have an identity crisis when it’s so obvious just how special it’s always been.
Always thought had a ton while visiting
TH-cam has no shortage of video lectures about the downfall of car-centered cities and how "dense urban cores" and "walk-able cities" are the epitome of urban paradise.
But nobody ever makes a compelling case for WHY. In fact, your entire video seems to take on the perspective that we the listener, already agree with your thesis rather than making a compelling argument for it.
You've clearly identified that the city IS car dependent, and the downtown area IS a giant tourist trap and parking lot.
However, you've failed to explain why that is a bad thing.
Urban sprawl is quite literally the economic force behind Texas cities being affordable still.
Go look at every major city that has build UP rather than out and what do you see? Incredibly expensive property values.
Texas cities allow you to buy a suburban dream home for 350,000.00 on a single blue collar income.
By contrast, 100% of the "walkable, lively urban centers" are price prohibitive for most people under 45 years old.
I like driving my vehicle. I like being able to go where I want WHEN I want it. I like owning a home and also not being crushed under the mortgage.
I have no reason to be in downtown, therefore I feel no sorrow or FOMO. I am not missing out on anything by not being downtown.
I'll take sitting in my own air conditioned vehicle for 12 mins to go to dinner versus getting knifed on the subway in Nyc or spit on by a terrorist in London any day.
I'll take my greenspaces, trees, parks and ponds over your reported paradisical concrete jungle any day of the week.
San Antonio has never advertised these things. If that is what you're looking for, go check out manhattan.
No one is saying you have to give up driving. There are plenty of places in San Antonio where you can drive all day. Go live there. This is about downtown.
You claim to have “no reason” to be downtown, you aren’t missing out, blah blah blah-then why are you so opinionated on how it should be planned?
Oh wait, you think “getting knifed” and spit on by a “terrorist” is the average public transportation experience. That tells me all I need to know. You are just scared. Go live in the safe suburbs and watch your TV news and leave the city planning to the people who aren’t afraid to walk down the street.
@@Nik-pp3qs
1. I never said that anyone claimed that I had to give up driving.
2. I don't need to justify why I have an opinion about downtown. I just do. You'll get over it.
3. You want me to "leave the city planning" to someone like you who cannot even properly convey their own sentiments in a comment box?
You're not even able to articulate enough to tell me what I am incorrect about. But you're a city planner? Doubt.
Would you like to try again on this comment and make a cogent point?
Real
The reason for all that downtown parking is to accommodate the tourist did you not know that
1:02 That's Austin, bub
it’s really not, bub
its giving citynerd clone channel
I’m afraid San Antonio is killing downtown San Antonio
You're absolutely right about that, Texas doesn't like the idea of walkable cities, all they care about is the automotive industry.
@@CTJM_Middleton Not true at all. San Antonio is not a reflection of other Texas cities and the progress being made. Dallas is rapidly urbanizing and downtown itself is not the total extent of that urbanization. Dallas has multiple urban core neighborhoods that are densifying. Uptown Dallas, Victory Park, Downtown, Turtle Creek, etc have merged into a single urbanized area with streetcars and light rail.
@@1TewBuMyShoe only a few neighborhoods...compared to the whole size of the metroplex? and only if you're privileged enough to live in the area can you enjoy all of that?
7:47 all those" amazing low parking" cities have downtowns full of homeless people . . .
Real