What San Antonio needs to become a major city (Houston: appointed, hotel)

[LongHornGuy86]

Originally Posted by wCat

Hang on to that great energy and channel it into educating yourself on the "process" to get to these solutions. You might be a city leader one day!

WIll do! Thanks for the compliments.

[LongHornGuy86]

I guess the first thing would be more educated population. How many more 'career point' commercials do we have to see? And yeah, I know UTSA isn't the best school but that's really their fault.

There are a lot of smart students here (we could have gone to UT), but UTSA doesn't utilize this, and make admissions more competitive. That's why I'm out.

I think less than 15% of SA holds a college degree.

[210]

Originally Posted by UTSASTUD

Evident from some of my posts, I don't have the best impression of San Antonio. However, I will admit it's certainly not a bad place, but definitely lacks the big city ambience and amenities of Dallas, Houston, and even Austin.

Here are some things San Antonio could greatly benefit from, being a city of it's size:

1. Better roadways:

San Antonio's roads are alarmingly underdeveloped, especially in "rural" areas which are quickly growing. Many roads are no more than two lanes in fast developing areas of the north and northwest.

Additionally, projects like 410 have taken far too long and are not consistent, aesthetic, and in many places very dangerous. Exits on 410 are very sharp, and very dangerous--it's like the entire roadway needs to be ripped up and started over. 410 is too narrow and the road surfaces are uneven--it can't be improved, it just needs to be overhauled.

I-10: Another disaster. Has taken too long to complete the project, and by the looks of it, will still look bad even when done. Exits again are too sharp. Stop signs at exits (near downtown) are simply not acceptable and very dangerous, even in areas with little traffic. On the far northside, I-10 is dangerous because you have to cross over into oncoming traffic to get onto the highway--VERY dangerous.

1604: Again, a two-lane major highway that goes through the fast expanding northside. Will eventually need to be expanded, however, good merging and exits.

SA's freeway system is one of the best in the nation. I agree that some areas of the som freeways need to be upgraded however SA is greatly underfunded in terms of freeway construction and has been since the first freeway was built. That is why they are now turning to toll roads.

Have you ever been to Charlotte, most of their freeways are two lane and there are dirt roads within the city limits.

Look at Houston, their freeway construction is never ending.

2: Better mass transit: I've never ridden a bus here, can't comment on that. But what San Antonio could benefit from is some kind of light rail system that goes from the northside to downtown San Antonio, much like Dallas. This may alleviate some traffic.

I agree, I'd love some light rail in SA.

3. Big business: In order to truly be recognized, San Antonio needs to attract big business. Whether it be biotech firms, business firms, banking firms, or computer technology firms. There's not enough here, and tourism isn't doing enough for the economy.

Considering tourism is the fourth largest industry in SA, you're extremely wrong on this. Bio-medical and financial lead SA at 1 and 2 and then the military.

Howeever, I agree, it's never a bad thing attracting big business. However, SA does have it and is attracting it.

4. Downtown renovation: I really think San Antonio needs to invest in it's downtown (which is very historic and quant), but again, there needs to be more business growth here. In Dallas, many companies are moving from outside city limits to the downtown area, and it's done a lot to revitalize certain parts (gentrification). Perhaps San Antonio could give incentives for more corporations to move downtown?

I doubt this happens anytime soon. It's way cheaper to build outside of downtown and for companies the bottomline is the dollar.

5. NFL team: I think this could benefit the city tremendously. It would bring in a ton of money and really put San Antonio on the map.

I would also love an NFL team.

6. Development of existing land: What I notice about San Antonio is that development is very unorganized; it's not contiguous like Dallas. You'll have a neighborhood, and then nothing but fields. Developers need to develop entire areas before they move to other places.

You find this in Dallas as well. There's large parcels of undeveloped land seperating developed land in suburban Dallas.

7. Bringing in a more educated set: San Antonio needs more college educated residents. This generally means increased incomes, support for the arts (libraries, museums, concert halls), and improves the quality of life.

I agree. I also see it happening within the last 2-3 threes and it continues.

Thoughts? Opinions?

I agreed and disagreed with some of what you said, however I can understand where you're coming from, however, I think it's foolish of you to keep comparing SA with Dallas with every one of your posts. It'd be like someone from Toyko or London going to the Dallas forum and telling people there what needs to be done so Dallas could become a world class city.

[LongHornGuy86]

Originally Posted by 210

I agreed and disagreed with some of what you said, however I can understand where you're coming from, however, I think it's foolish of you to keep comparing SA with Dallas with every one of your posts. It'd be like someone from Toyko or London going to the Dallas forum and telling people there what needs to be done so Dallas could become a world class city.

Do you want to see SA move to the next level or not? This attitude right here is why SA continues to be left behind. SA should take the Dallas example and run with it.

[210]

Originally Posted by UTSASTUD

Do you want to see SA move to the next level or not? This attitude right here is why SA continues to be left behind. SA should take the Dallas example and run with it.

I never said taking the Dallas example and running with it is a bad thing, however all you seem to do is compare SA to Dallas. Which is a much larger metro area which helps with being able to pull off the things you want SA to. It's also along further in that regard as well. It's like telling a a kid in 7th grade to get smart fast so they can jump to college next year.

Like I said, you're like someone from London ot Tokyo who goes to a Dallas board and tell them to be just like them in order to became a world city.

SA is growing, it's also already doing many of the things you suggested.

[Guerilla]

210, light rail in San Antonio would be nice, but I think BRT would come in first.

I think San Antonio should be compared with Charlotte or the Twin Cities more. Those cities are roughly the same size as San Antonio metro wise, but they have more urban developments, plus light rail.

[210]

Well, BRT is already planned, but the great thing is, BRT requires a dedicated lane so in the future you could easily switch BRT for Lightrail.

[210]

Originally Posted by Guerilla

I think San Antonio should be compared with Charlotte or the Twin Cities more. Those cities are roughly the same size as San Antonio metro wise, but they have more urban developments, plus light rail.

The Twin Cities, yes. But not Charlotte.

I've been there a few times in the last couple of years.

They do have a great deal of downtown and Uptown developments u/c or planned/proposed which should greatly help them.

[Guerilla]

Why not Charlotte? They may have dirt roads in the city limits, but they still have light rail and many urban projects (check out SouthernUprise.Com). It isn't a rural metro:

[n0vemberHAWK]

Thats What Sa Needs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!