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Committee previews $500,000 downtown mobility and accessibility study for San Antonio
Summary
City staff told the Audit Committee an RFP will seek a consultant to model vehicular and pedestrian traffic, transit, micromobility and parking strategies for downtown San Antonio; the 1-year contract is estimated at $500,000, funded from the parking enterprise fund, with proposals due May 18 and council consideration targeted for June 18.
City staff presented a pre-solicitation briefing on a proposed downtown accessibility and mobility study that would examine vehicle and pedestrian traffic, transit, micromobility and parking options for downtown San Antonio.
Ben Gorzell, a city staff presenter, said the study—issued as an RFP—would take a broad mobility approach rather than a parking-only focus. "We really want to step back and look at how we move vehicles and people in and out of downtown," he said, describing modeling for event scenarios tied to a proposed ballpark and a sports and entertainment district.
The one-year contract (with a one-year renewal option) is estimated at $500,000 and the city proposes to fund it from the parking enterprise fund. Gorzell told the committee the solicitation would be released no later than the end of the week, remain open for roughly 30 days with proposals due May 18, and staff aim to bring a contract recommendation to city council on June 18.
Gorzell outlined the consultant evaluation criteria: experience and background (30 points), proposed plan (35 points), pricing (10 points), small-business-enterprise prime (10 points), local preference (10 points) and veteran preference (5 points). He also listed proposed evaluation team members, including John Paterick (assistant city manager), Alex Lopez (assistant city manager), Craig Hopkins (chief information officer), Shannon Miller (chief downtown officer), Mike Shannon (director of capital delivery), Bridget White (director of planning), Victoria Rotor (deputy assistant director of finance) and Rod Sanchez (senior vice president of planning and development with VIA).
Committee members asked for specificity about the study boundaries, permit parking and use of private surface lots. Chair Villagran urged staff to consider block-by-block impacts, prevent informal resident-only street reservations, and explore technology that could allow revenue-sharing between lot owners and the city. Councilman White asked how the study would avoid duplicating work by VIA and TxDOT; Gorzell said staff will provide prior studies and modeling to the consultant so past work can be incorporated rather than duplicated.
Several members requested clearer public-engagement expectations and a visual map showing the district, scope and sequencing. Gorzell said draft recommendations would be available in late summer and the study’s outputs would be aligned with the city’s infrastructure planning schedule.
The committee did not take a formal vote on the RFP itself at the Audit Committee meeting; staff will release the solicitation and return with a contract recommendation to council.
