SAN ANTONIO — Veronica Salas leads a bicycle group called San Antonio Babes on Bikes that entices women of all skill levels to ride together. But every week for the last few years, she's spent extra time adjusting their routes. 

What You Need To Know

  • Veronica Salas, the leader of a San Antonio bike club, says she's recently experienced several close calls on the road when drivers get confused about bike lanes

  • The city is responding by updating its Complete Streets policy for the first time since 2011. A "complete street" is a road that accommodates all forms of travel: bike, wheelchair, walking, bus and personal vehicles

  • San Antonio is using a framework El Paso created in 2022. According to a national report by New Smart Growth America, El Paso’s Complete Streets policy ranked third in the nation

  • Salas says it’s a step in the right direction to potentially save lives

“It’s not just going on a good ride and hanging out with other ladies,” Salas said. “But also learning hand signals, how to communicate with drivers, making eye contact with them.” 

Salas says the city's infrastructure plays a role in protecting cyclists and pedestrians. Lately in the Alamo City, Salas has experienced several near-accidents with drivers confused about bike lanes. 

“I’d say this is a big high-traffic area where people do often get in situations where they get hit, run off the street or just cut off,” Salas said about a downtown intersection. 

The City of San Antonio is responding by updating its Complete Streets policy for the first time since 2011. A "complete street" is a road that accommodates all forms of travel: bike, wheelchair, walking, bus and personal vehicles. 

San Antonio is using a framework El Paso created in 2022.

“So Complete Streets became sort of a series of checks and balances for our other projects. Through this, we're sort of in what we would call the implementation phase right now. We've developed a Complete Streets checklist,” said Joaquin Rodriguez, the director of grant-funded programs with the City of El Paso.

Rodriguez says this checklist helps to ensure road projects accommodate all commuters.

According to a national report by New Smart Growth America, El Paso’s Complete Streets policy ranked third in the nation. 

“Narrowing driving lanes, including curb extensions, striping for bicycle facilities,” Rodriguez said. “We are trying to ensure that our design standards reflect those Complete Street values so that we're making those improvements in a meaningful way.” 

It’s exactly why San Antonio is adopting the policy and including protected bike lanes. Salas says it’s a step in the right direction to potentially save lives. She’s says she’s lost too many friends on the road. 

“We are becoming more accessible with bikes and scooters and Via transit, where everybody’s trying to utilize these opportunities to commute,” Salas said.