Thu 9 Apr 2009
AGUA on 1604/281 Interchange: “We cannot build our way out of this problem.”
Posted by Aquifer Warrior under Aquifer NewsComment on this!
Contrary to what was reported in the Express-News staff editorial “Loop 1604/US 281 project is necessary”, AGUA is not planning to file a new lawsuit. The project is encompassed by claims we raised in the Toll Road lawsuit filed last year. That lawsuit is still pending in federal district court.
We are concerned with the proposal to build an interchange because, as the keystone between 1604 and 281, it may lock into place a future highway configuration that precludes the exploration of alternative long-term transportation solutions, solutions that would minimize impact to the Edwards Aquifer while alleviating the worst aspects of urban sprawl. We have tried to work with the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority (ARMA) to resolve our differences, but, thus far, they have refused to meet with us.
In our opinion a reasonable solution would be one that allows stimulus funds to be used on the interchange if it can be built without precluding alternative solutions at a later time. The proposed “Superstreet” is an example of dealing with the short term traffic problem without handicapping the search for a long term solution.
San Antonio has other transportation projects which desperately need funding such as the rapid mass transit proposed for Fredericksburg Road. This is the time to ask ourselves some hard questions about priorities. Do we really want stimulus money, our public funds, to subsidize and exacerbate sprawl? Isn’t sprawl the cause of the very problem the interchange is supposed to address? Experience shows us roadbuilding is a kind of feedback loop. More roads mean more traffic which generates the need for more roads. We cannot build our way out of this problem. That is the old answer and it has failed us miserably.
It is convenient to take advantage of popular emotion to slander the idea that we should do everything we can to protect the Edwards Aquifer. Northside drivers certainly deserve relief from traffic congestion. But relief should not come at the expense of all 1.7 million San Antonio residents who depend on the aquifer for clean drinking water.
The 281 corridor north of 1604 is at the heart of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone in Bexar County. It has long been under threat from rapid and poorly conceived development. The Loop 1604/US 281 project is a continuation of bad planning that got us into this mess in the first place. We need reassurance that we won’t be having this same discussion 10 years from now, when not only have we invited many more residents to live along the 281 corridor but we have further jeopardized our water.
-On behalf of the Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas








