SAN ANTONIO — The city is seeking federal dollars to improve one of San Antonio’s deadliest streets.
The city wants to use grant money available from the Infrastructure Act on Culebra Road to improve pedestrian safety.
Longtime community members would like to see some improvements.
“The street where we’re at ended the paving, and from 36th street to 410 there was a gravel road,” Barrio Barista owner Gilbert De Hoyos and his family have owned the building on the city’s west side since the 60’s.
“Now we have 26,000 cars that go in front of our store,” De Hoyos said.
The road to change hasn’t always been good.
“As I’ve seen it evolve, I’ve seen there’s been a lot of tragedy in this street,” De Hoyos said.
The 13-mile stretch of road saw 600 accidents in 2021. According to a city survey, respondents said the top three challenges of moving safely on Culebra Road include people driving too fast, distracted drivers and difficulty crossing the street.
“I want my constituents to be able to ride their bikes along a major thoroughfare like Culebra and not feel unsafe,” Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda says the funding is critical for this stretch of road.
During a Wednesday committee meeting, the city council was briefed on a pending grant application for $7.6 million that would go towards improving segments of Culebra Road from Callaghan to Loop 410 and Bandera Rd to Callaghan. The city has a $3 million match according to city documents.
In the 2022 May election, voters approved $18 million to improve Culebra Road from Interstate 10 to Callaghan road to improve pedestrian mobility as part of the bond package.
When those projects could start is still unclear.
“A lot of it does depend on this grant, it’s a good amount of money and it’s a good investment,” Councilwoman Cabello Havrda said.
De Hoyos says improving safety for pedestrians would mean a positive future for the road and all people who use it.
“I think it’s a benefit to widen the sidewalk again, and at this point, and probably lighting up the dark areas of Culebra Road,” De Hoyos said.
The deadline to apply for the grant is February 28.