Stone Oak to San Antonio airport (410) commute (Dallas, Austin: new home, neighborhoods)

[falcon4]

I'm looking at houses around Hardy Oak elem school in Stone Oak. My workplace would be near SA Intl airport on 410. How's the daily commute? Hours of work are regular 8-5 (can flex a bit here and there).
Google maps shows 20 mins in traffic, so if I consider peak traffic is 30 mins ok?
Don't want to be driving more than 35 mins each way.
Is there any other route besides 281? What about other internal roads?

[Bo]

You'll be right in the thick of rush hour with those hours and that trip. There are alternatives, like Stone Oak Parkway to 1604 and down 281, but no shorter alternative route, thanks to all of the gated neighborhoods and cul de sacs in Stone Oak. That alternative drive south will work better once the southern half of the 1604-281 interchange is complete in a couple of years.

There is also hope for 281 improvement in the Stone Oak area, with various toll and non-toll proposals floating around. Those are at least 5 years off, though, and they will compound the commute headaches while they are under construction.

I'll let someone who lives up there address the commute times.

[pobre]

I'm going to say 45+ minutes...on occasion, I've had to drive from Tesoro Dr (Airport area) to Stone Oak, leaving anytime between 4:40 and 5:40, and it takes at least 40. I live right off of Huebner Rd., which is essentially the southern part of Stone Oak. I've taken all 281, 281 to Sonterra, and Broadway to Wetmore to Starcrest to Bitters, all with about the same results.

[flourpower]

I live in SO (Hardy Oak & SO) and drive daily for work to just north of Downtown (N. St. Mary's). I usually leave the house at 7:00 and arrive at work at 7:30. There are the occassional delays because of an accident that increases the time by 10-15 minutes, but I would say these are certainly the exceptions, and not the norm. Coming home is an entirely different story. If you leave the area around 5:40, expect at least a 40 min. commute.

[L210]

There are back ways of getting to 410 without staying on 281, but I'm not sure they would shorten your trip. You could take Henderson Pass to Thousand Oaks to Wetmore Rd. Another route would be Redland Rd to Jones Maltsberger in order to get to Wetmore or Broadway by way of Thousand Oaks or Starcrest/Wurzbach Pkwy. You could also exit Nacogdoches from Wurzbach Pkwy and head to 410 near the airport.

[andrewcool]

There are several alternatives to the route, but would only increase your driving time. I would recommend that 281 route still, however even though everyone says at least 40 mins, I would always plan for an hour because of accidents, various construction and other acts of god and man that you can think of. One big problem, is that you are driving during peak hours, which means something that can be at best 20-30mins (maybe shorter), now turns to almost an hour because of all the people, and other activities.

[amexicano]

I drive everyday from La Cantera area to Quarry Market and it's usually 25-30 mins going east on 1604 and then south on 281 around 7:40AM. Plan for about 15-20 mins from 1604 and 281 and add whatever time it takes you to get there.

Afternoon traffic going north on 281 is a little worse, so I usually take different route. But the few times I've done it, it takes me ~30 mins from Quarry market to 1604 & 281

[smuboy86]

Is there a reason why you're stuck on SO? There are plenty of good schools and houses and neighborhoods in the airport area or at least in a 5-10 minute drive.

[TXsurburbanmom]

I think 30 minutes would be a maximum unless there is a wreck or extreme weather. My husband used to drive all the way across town to WW White in 45 minutes in normal traffic and an hour if it was a slow rush hour. Your big problem short term is the construction but once that is done the time will shorten. An alternate would be to take Wilderness Oaks to Blanco. You could then go Bitters to 281 (although I have found that traffic worse then SO Pkwy) or to W. Avenue then up Nakoma to come out almost at the Airport. I have many friends with kids at Hardy Oaks. You will be very happy with it

[FromUT&MI]

Hello,

We live off of Hardy Oak, our kids go to Hardy Oak and Lopez.

My husband's company is at SAT. Drive time is about 20-30in morning and is usually around 45min in evenings. It may sound like a drive, but we think it's worth it.

We did look closer to the airport in hopes of cutting down on the commute, but find that we like it here better, and the commute is worth it. The homes for the most part are newer. Ours is 10 years old, but there is a lot of new construction in the area. The neighborhoods have sidewalks (which is a plus) I believe all of the neighborhoods I've seen have a community pool... much needed in the summer. Most neighborhoods are gated. There are pros and cons to having a gate, the pro I find the most valuable is that cars are forced to slow down when entering the neighborhood.

The schools are top ranked and the area is clean and feels safer (to me). There are a lot of families with children here. You have a lot of conveniences within 2-10 minutes... CVS, Walgreens, 2 HEBs close by (one on Evans and 281 & one @ Blanco and ) 2 Super Targets Blanco/1604 & Stone Oak/281, Greenfields Market, Whole Foods under construction @ Blanco, a nice new Library, hospitals, Dr offices and Dental offices, restaurants, etc...

It really depends where you're moving from and what you're used to as far as neighborhoods and the commute. Traffic isn't nearly as bad as other large cities in the US. like, LA, SLC, Dallas, Chicago and in my opinion even Austin are really much worse.

Depending on where you're located at the airport, you can cut your drive time down. He takes a back way to get onto 281, then hits the access road at 1604, next Stone Oak to Hardy Oak. You can also got up 281 and take a left on Evans - to Stone Oak - to Hardy Oak.

Hardy Oak Elementary is highly sought after with limited new home construction being allocated in its boundaries. It might be a bit pricey to some, but I have found that some of the nicer areas in San Antonio are also pricey, once again it just depends on where you're moving from.

We moved here from out of state and felt very welcome to the community. If there are any other specific questions I can help you with, just let me know.

Good Luck with your move, and welcome to San An.