San Pedro Creek is about to see big changes and the city and county are going to be shelling out big bucks. Bexar County alone is putting in $175 million to turn the West Side creek into a green belt of running trails and parks.
The hope is that the improvement will lead to additional business investment in the West Side according to Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and Paul Elizondo, the Precinct 2 county commissioner, whose district covers the West Side.
The improvements have been a long time coming, with millions set aside 5 years ago, but little progress has been made. San Pedro Creek still looks like little more than a drainage ditch in many areas.
The museum reach extension of the River Walk is pointed to as the catalyst the county is looking for from San Pedro. UTSA professor and SABOR Institute chief economist Steve Nivin's analysisagreed with that assumption, mapping four possible scenarios. He expected that private business development would begin in expectation of the projects 2018 completion date, impacting employment and tax revenues.
Will the West Side finally realize the promise of the decade of downtown?
Guests:
- Suzanne Scott, San Antonio River Authority general manager
*This is the first segment in the April 10 edition of The Source, which airs at 3 p.m. on KSTX 89.1 FM -- audio from this show will be posted by 5:30 p.m.
