Happy Trails to You

Ambitious parks projects add 3 miles of new trails in North San Antonio

Take a hike through these new trails.

San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department/Facebook

An ambitious public works project is asking San Antonians to literally take a hike. On August 2, the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department will unveil the newest additions to the Howard W. Peak Greenway Trail System.

The new project adds an additional 1.8 miles of trail extension to the Salado Creek Greenway Trail and two miles to the Leon Creek Greenway Trail. Combined with existing paths, the system now includes 69 miles of trails spanning 1,500 acres of outdoor space, according to the City of San Antonio.

The extension now combines the Salado Creek and Leon Creek trails, which will eventually converge at Eisenhower Park. In addition to the extension, trail upgrades include "parking, bike repair stations, water fountains, dog waste mitts, and wayfinding signage for the trail user’s convenience."

Named for the former mayor of San Antonio, the Peak Greenway Trail System was envisioned to be a "ring" of hike-and-bike trails around the Alamo City. Since being approved by voters in 2000, the system has created accessible creek-side pathways throughout the city, including the Medina River; Alazan, Apache, Leon, Martinez, Salado San Pedro, and Zarzamora creeks; and tributaries such as Huesta Creek and Culebra Creek.

“The Greenway Trail System provides the community a wonderful opportunity to get outside and explore the natural beauty of South Texas,” says interim parks director Homer Garcia in a release. “The creek-side trails are perfect spaces for a variety of activities and abilities, from cycling to dog walking, bird watching, and long-distance running."

While the city does encourage San Antonians to enjoy the newest additions to the system, would-be hikers should always exercise caution. Stay on the marked trails, bring a buddy, and always bring plenty of water.

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Hold Your Horses

San Antonio City Council considers plan to phase out horse-drawn carriages

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A scant majority of San Antonians like the idea of ending the practice.

In a special session on Thursday, October 31, the San Antonio City Council will deliberate on possibly phasing out horse-drawn carriages. A proposal called "A Just Transition from Horse Drawn Carriages" has led to a one-to-three-year plan for replacing the horses with electric carriages.

An early project proposal in November of 2022 — written by District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran — laid out concerns for the horses' wellbeing, quoting the Animal Welfare Institute. Concerns included exposure to traffic and pollution, long periods standing and walking on hard surfaces, and extreme weather, among other things. In addition to the effect on horses, the request also mentioned environmental effects from slowed traffic.

It proposed completely stopping any new use of horse drawn carriages and letting any existing permits expire. The request also mentioned pedicabs as an alternative alongside the electric carriages, but the pedicabs seem to have fallen away from the public discourse.

Following up on the proposal, a city survey that concluded in August of 2024 found that of 50,476 respondents, a scant majority (51.98 percent) said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." Other options like changing hours and location of horse-drawn carriage use were unpopular, and 29.01 percent said they wanted to continue with the current system of use.

A majority of respondents (53.83 percent) had never ridden in a horse drawn carriage at all, and an strong majority of those survey takers cited the treatment of the horse as the reason they hadn't tried it. Those who had ridden on the carriages mostly liked it for the "historical and cultural experience," with examples including feeling nostalgic and learning about San Antonio's history.

The survey did not disclose how many of the people who rode on the carriages were tourists, but tourists made up 21.66 percent of respondents.

In addition to the survey, council members also unanimously voted on August 19, 2024, to have a plan drafted by city staff that would phase out the horse-drawn carriages in one to three years.

The only item on the special session agenda (aside from approval of minutes) is a briefing and possible action on the proposal, meaning that a decision is not guaranteed.

More information about city council meetings is available at sa.gov.

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