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San Antonio River Basin Report Card 2021

2021

Report Card Summary

2021
San Antonio River Basin Report Card Summary
The overall grade for the 2021 San Antonio River Basin Report Card is B. This grade is the average of twelve individual indicator grades, which are explained in greater detail below.
67.0
Park Usage
Park Usage
How is this being measured?
Explanation of the grade
Key findings

A+Park Usage

While all the metrics in the San Antonio River Basin Report Card have overlapping correlation to the safe, clean, enjoyable creeks and rivers aspects of the River Authority’s mission, the Park Usage grade is primarily related to the enjoyable aspect.

The River Authority’s District is home to nearly 2.1 million people per the latest Census data, and as development continues to drive local population numbers up, there will be a growing need for all types of recreation facilities. The River Authority firmly supports the health and quality of life benefits of nature-based recreation. Over the past decade, the River Authority has added nature-based recreational activities throughout the basin including hike and bike trails, paddling trails, picnic and camping areas, playgrounds, fishing, birdwatching, and even disc golf courses. These river-based recreational resources have attracted thousands of users to bask in the beauty and enjoyment of nature.

Park Usage

The River Authority’s is working to increase the availability of nature-based recreation throughout the San Antonio River Basin by adding to our park assets, collaborating with other government entities to develop park resources along creeks and rivers in the basin, and by working with citizens to promote the use of and connections between recreational facilities that encourage the public to enjoy the natural resources of the area. With more recreational access to creeks and rivers, the River Authority believes individuals will develop a greater appreciation for the natural resources provided by the San Antonio River and its tributaries. This appreciation will lead to awareness of the issues affecting the basin and promote increased preservation and conservation of these natural resources by individuals, businesses, and governments.

How is this being measured?

For this metric, the grade is calculated by using the total park usage for this fiscal year (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021) and dividing that number by park usage data from previous fiscal years, then multiply by 100 to get the final score. All of the individual park scores related to usage of parks operated and maintained by the River Authority are averaged together for one grade and a second grade is created for all the individual park scores related to usage of parks located along creeks and rivers throughout the basin which are operated and maintained by other governments or entities. These two grades are then averaged together to determine the final overall grade for this metric. The list of parks being scored are identified in the “Explanation of the Grade” section.

The intent of this grade will be to expand the historical data available over the next few years so there is enough data to allow for a rolling 5-year average to be used in the calculation of the grade. For this year’s basin report card grade, the oldest park usage data we have for some of the parks comes from fiscal year 2017-18, which will allow for a 4-year rolling average to be used in the calculation. Some of the park usage data does not go back all the way to Fiscal Year 2017-18, and in some cases, parks have just opened, or they are identified to open in the future. Therefore, there isn’t yet enough historical data to score each park listed in the “Explanation of the Grade” section. The missing data will be clearly identified in the “Explanation of the Grade” section. We have decided to include the parks with missing data because over the next few years it is anticipated that all the data gaps will be filled allowing for these parks to be properly scored.

Essentially, this grade is a trend analysis for park usage with the basic assumption being that maintaining or increasing the amount of park usage is positive (i.e. will get a higher grade) and a decreasing amount of park usage is negative (i.e. will get a lower grade). Being a trend analysis, it is possible that this grade may produce scores above 100 or below 0. Scores above 100 will be shown as an “A+” on the report card dashboard and a score below 0 will be shown as a “F.” The actual numeric value will be used in the averaging of all metrics to produce the overall basin grade.

Park Usage

There is an exception to this metric as related to the River Authority’s paddling trail usage score. This score is not a trend analysis, but rather is based solely on data from Fiscal Year 2020-21. This score is determined by comparing the reported number of paddlers per the Canoe Trail Goliad and the approved paddling vendors in San Antonio against their beginning of the year projections.

For transparency, the River Authority recognizes that it is possible that overuse of a park may, in the long run, be detrimental to that park. Therefore, it may be argued by some that giving a positive score for increasing park usage may not be the ideal way to grade park usage. We were aware of this concern during the development of the San Antonio River Basin Report Card and decided to proceed with the use of the metric as described above despite its potential shortcomings. The River Authority firmly believes that more access to nature-based parks and paddling trails will provide area residents and visitors a greater appreciation for the natural resources and quality of life benefits provided by the San Antonio River and its tributaries. This increased appreciation will help promote preservation and conservation of these resources by individuals, businesses, and government. We will, however, address the potential threat of park overuse, when necessary, in future report cards in the “Key Findings” section of this metric.

Explanation of the grade

River Authority Park Usage Score

River Authority Paddling Trails Projected # of paddlers for 2020-21 Actual # of paddlers for 2019-20 Score
  4,074 5,661 139.0

 

River Authority Park 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 Average 2020-21 Score
Museum Reach
(trail counter for pedestrians and bicyclists)
289,745 260,975 245,615 327,119 280,863.5 320,282 114.0
Mission Reach
(trail counter for pedestrians and bicyclists)
409,539 310,006 353,271 510,609 365,908 516,787 141.2
Confluence Park
(trail counter for pedestrians and bicyclists)
NA I 57,255 74,914 66,085 72,004 109.0

San Pedro Creek Culture Park
(trail counter for pedestrians and bicyclists)

This park will have enough data to receive a score in the 2021 basin report card.

NA NA NA 93,754 93,754 89,119 95.1
River Crossing Park
(main gate vehicle counter)
NA I 4,983 8,626 6,805 9,466 139.1
Graytown Park on the San Antonio River
(main gate vehicle counter)
NA 10,345 12,614 13,902 12,287 19,569 159.3
John William Helton-San Antonio River Nature Park
(main gate vehicle counter)
NA 36,607 49,076 60,681 48,788 67,969 139.3
John William Helton-San Antonio River Nature Park
(special use gate vehicle counter)
NA I 9,315 6,489 7,902 8,571 108.5

Escondido Creek Parkway
(trail counter for pedestrians and bicyclists)

This park will open in October 2020 and will have enough data to be scored in the 2023 basin report card.

NA NA NA NA NA I NA

Trueheart Ranch Park

This park is still being planned and developed. Its opening date is still to be determined. It will be included in future basin report cards when enough data is available for it to be scored.

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

Mann’s Crossing Park

This park is still being planned and developed. Its opening date is still to be determined. It will be included in future basin report cards when enough data is available for it to be scored.

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

Straus-Medina Park

This park is still being planned and developed. Its opening date is still to be determined. It will be included in future basin report cards when enough data is available for it to be scored.

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

NA = not available
I = Incomplete data

Score of River Authority Park Usage (114.0+141.2+109.0+95.1+139.1+159.3+139.3+108.5) / 8
= 127.2

Non-River Authority Park Usage Score:

List in order from furthest north to south throughout the basin.

Other Parks 2016-17 data 2017-18 data 2018-19 data 2019-20 Average 2020-21 data Score
Government Canyon State Natural Area (est. visitors) 81,000 80,500 71,100 72,700 76,325 59,600 78.1
COSA Greenway Trails (trail counters for pedestrians and bicyclists) 309,191 268,099 258,610 385,403 305,326 663,203 217.2
COSA Parks (est. visitors) 53,269 102,692 93,121 77,320 81,601 33,485 41.0
Bexar County Parks (est. visitors) NA 216,265 225,410 226,665 222,780 226,665 101.7
Goliad State Park (est. visitors) 50,700 46,500 49,600 36,900 45,925 45,200 98.4
Presidio La Bahia and Zaragoza Birthplace State Historic Site (est. visitors) NA 20,956 22,104 15,811 19,624 18,199 92.7
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (est. visitors) 34,278 46,513 36,495 50,599 41,971 52,000 123.9

NA = There is no data for this fiscal year. 

I = There is incomplete data available, which we decided not to use.

For this metric, the City of San Antonio’s Howard W. Peak Greenway Trails System score is based on combining the trail counter totals from the Leon Creek at Ingram Transit Center, Leon Creek at Prue, and Salado Creek at Blanco.

For this metric, the City of San Antonio Parks score is based on combining the estimated visitors to Walker Ranch Historic Landmark Park, McAllister Park, Brackenridge Park, Roosevelt Park, and Medina River Natural Area.

For this metric, the Bexar County Parks score is based on combining the estimated visitors to Mission County Park Pavilions, Mission County Park II, and Padre Park. For Fiscal Year 2020-21, Bexar County does not have data to share because the county was not allowing reservations in county parks due to COVID-19. Therefore, Bexar County was not collecting the park usage data even though their parks were still open and being used by the public during the pandemic. With regards to the circumstances of the pandemic, the River Authority will repeat the numbers of the previous Fiscal Year 2019-20, and in future years, actual data will be used when the data is being collected again.

Total score for Non-River Authority Park Usage (78.1+217.2+41.0+101.7+98.4+92.7+123.9) / 7
= 107.6

Non-River Authority Park Usage Score:

Grade: A+
(127.2 + 107.6 / 2 = 117.4)

Key findings

Park usage is up once again during Fiscal Year 2020-21 as compared with park usage data from previous fiscal years. It is believed that they ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has once again impacted the park usage numbers as citizens remain eager to get outside and utilize the nature-based and cultural park resources throughout the San Antonio River Basin.

Park Usage

As mentioned in last year’s river basin report card, the uncertainty brought about by COVID-19 has caused anxiety, impacted plans, and altered lives in one way or another. For many, the tranquility of the outdoors has provided an escape from the stress of the current times. More people have been seen enjoying a walk, run, bike ride, fishing, or paddle along the San Antonio River. COVID-19 has reminded us that our creeks, rivers, parks, and green spaces are woven into our life as places that we need for personal physical and mental wellbeing as well as our community’s economic strength.

Overall, the data shows a growth in park usage for both River Authority and non-River Authority parks as, collectively, more than 243,000 park users were recorded above last fiscal year’s total park usage figure. Of the 16 individual park usage scores, 11 recorded an increase in usage over previous fiscal years and 5 recorded a decrease.

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