On two wheels

San Antonio rides onto list of most dangerous places for cyclists

Helmets are among the most important safety precautions.

Photo courtesy of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture

Bicycling in San Antonio might be hazardous to your health, according to sobering new data about cyclist deaths.

A study released this month by CarInsurance.org puts Arlington at No. 16 among the 20 most dangerous U.S. cities for cyclists.

To identify the most dangerous cities for cyclists, researchers at CarInsurance.org analyzed fatality data for 2014-17 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. They ranked cities by the number of cyclist fatalities per 100,000 bicycle commuters. Only cities with at least one cyclist death per year and at least 100,000 residents were included in the analysis.

Here’s the data for San Antonio:

Annual cycling deaths per 100,000 bicycle commuters: 243
Annual cycling deaths per 1 million residents: 2.2
Total cycling deaths (during four-year period): 13
Share of deaths involving a cyclist who wore a helmet: 8 percent
Number of bicycling commuters: 1,340

The nonprofit group Bike San Antonio complains that San Antonio’s bike-friendliness score from the People For Bikes organization is only 1.5 out of 5, ranking it 284th out of 512 cities.

Bike San Antonio says it’s been working for several years to improve bike safety in the city. “We’ve gone door to door, created petitions, attended city meetings, rallied cyclists to attend public meetings, and more,” the group says on its website.

In November 2019, the San Antonio City Council authorized spending $6 million for protected bike lanes on parts of Avenue B and Alamo Street. Cycling advocates also have called for protected bike lanes on Broadway Street.

The $6 million allocation for bike lanes follows the traffic deaths last year of two prominent San Antonio cyclists — Tito Bradshaw and Dr. Naji Tanios Kayruz.

In an April 2019 statement about Bradshaw’s death, San Antonio City Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales said: “As a cyclist, City Council member, mother and neighbor, I mourn such devastating losses and am determined to double down on my efforts to make our streets safe for everyone who uses them — cyclists, pedestrians, micromobility users, and vehicle drivers alike.”

San Antonio shares a spot on the CarInsurance.org list with another Texas city: Arlington, which ranks 13th.

Here’s how Arlington fares in the study:

Annual cycling deaths per 100,000 bicycle commuters: 262
Annual cycling deaths per 1 million residents: 2.6
Total cycling deaths (during four-year period): Four
Share of deaths involving a cyclist who wore a helmet: Zero
Number of bicycling commuters: 382

It’s worth pointing out that the total number of cycling deaths in Arlington over the four-year period was four, which works out to one per year.

Susan Schrock, a spokeswoman for the City of Arlington, confirms four cycling deaths happened in the city from 2014 to 2017. However, she says CarInsurance.org incorrectly reported the number of helmet-wearing cyclists who died. In one of the four cases, the cyclist was wearing a helmet.

Furthermore, Schrock says, police records show three of the four cyclists who were killed were found to be at fault.

“When reviewing the data, Arlington is tied with four other cities when it comes to the number of fatalities over the four-year timeframe,” Schrock says. “Overall, Arlington has among the fewest fatalities for a city of our size and number of residents.”

What appears to be the most recent cycling death in Arlington happened September 7, 2019. Terry Eason, 63, of Mansfield died after he was thrown off his bicycle and crashed into a tree at River Legacy Park.

Perhaps the most recent high-profile cycling accident in Arlington occurred in May 2019. Lyft driver Steven Turner was arrested and charged with failure to stop and render aid after hitting and injuring an off-duty police officer who was patrolling AT&T Stadium on a bike.

Medical City Arlington advises cyclists to always wear a helmet. The City of Arlington requires all children under age 18 to wear a helmet when riding a bike; for adults, wearing a helmet is optional.

“We treat far too many bike injuries that could have easily been prevented by following a few simple and inexpensive safety tips,” Dr. Siddhartha Rath, medical director of trauma services at Medical City Arlington, said in a 2018 release. “One of the most important precautions for anyone on two wheels is head protection.”

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Study This

San Antonio is the No. 4 most educated city in the country, says Forbes

Photo by weston m on Unsplash

San Antonians have completed more education than any other city in Texas.

Austin and San Antonio don't get all the same opportunities as the even larger cities in Texas, but in a recent study they prove they're prepared. Both made the top 10 in Forbes Advisor's "Most Educated Cities In The U.S." list: San Antonio was No. 4, and Austin was No. 7.

Other Texas cities made the list of 100, but some fell surprisingly far behind. Dallas made No. 20, followed by Houston at No. 79 and Fort Worth at No. 93. In some even more surprising twists, the smaller city of Garland was the fourth in Texas at No. 26, and El Paso, Corpus Christi, and Laredo all beat Houston.

This study compared the 100 largest cities in the country as of the 2021 census, using metrics like high school dropout rate, percentage of adults age 25 and older with some college, but no degree, undergraduate college completion rate, and percentage of adults age 25 and older with an advanced degree. There were also some lower-weighted metrics about equity, studying racial and gender college completion gaps.

Although many education studies fall into praising the University of Texas, this one considers education as a whole — while still mentioning the university once.

In San Antonio, the bachelor’s completion rate for people 25 and up was 67.30 percent, and 29.56 percent of people in that age group have advanced degrees. The study doesn't have much to say about educational opportunities in the city, focusing instead of its tourist potential. But it did note that the city had one of the smallest racial gaps for higher ed, which was only -5.49 percent. Its gender gap was 0.97 percent, and its high school dropout rate was 4.53 percent.

San Antonio's Trinity University did great in a Niche study that came out in early September. It was the No. 18 best small college in America, and topped the list entirely in Texas. Among bigger fish, it was also the No. 20 best liberal arts college in the country (and again the best in Texas), and made No. 4 in general for best colleges in Texas.

In Austin, 59.89 of people 25 or older completed Bachelor's degrees, and 22.76 percent completed advanced degrees. The racial gap was much worse at 10.87 percent. Its gender gap was a bit less than San Antonio's, at 0.69 percent, and its high school dropout rate was more at 7.56 percent.

Of course, this is where the study mentions UT, which is based in Austin. It made WalletHub's 2024 ranking of the best colleges and universities in Texas and earned the No. 2 spot; clinched the No. 6 spot in Niche's ranking of the best public universities in the country; and earned No. 2 in a list of best undergraduate programs for entrepreneurs by the Princeton Review, among other accolades.

Just breaking into the top 20, Dallas' Bachelor's degree completion rate was 57.05 percent, with 21.37 percent attaining advanced degrees. The racial and gender gaps were −14.99 percent and 1.64 percent, respectively. Much further down the list, Houston's Bachelor's degree completion rate was only 32.99 percent, and only 10.97% achieved advanced degrees. High school dropouts were at 8.90 percent, and the racial and gender gaps were −4.99 and 2.10 percent respectively.

Here are all the Texas cities on the list of 100, in order from most to least educated:

4. San Antonio
7. Austin
20. Dallas
26. Garland
49. El Paso
59. Corpus Christi
76. Laredo
79. Houston
81. Arlington
83. Irving

More information on the study by Forbes advisor, including full city rankings and expanded methodology, is available at forbes.com.

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