Helotes votes to cut Bandera Road speed limit to 55

The 65 mph speed limit signs inside the Helotes city limits on Texas 16/Bandera Road will soon be replaced by 55 mph signs, following action by the Helotes City Council. The 65 mph speed limit signs inside the Helotes city limits on Texas 16/Bandera Road will soon be replaced by 55 mph signs, following action by the Helotes City Council. Photo: Mike Reeder / For The Northwest Weekly Photo: Mike Reeder / For The Northwest Weekly Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Helotes votes to cut Bandera Road speed limit to 55 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Drivers heading into or out of Helotes on Texas 16/Bandera Road will need to ease off the gas pedal in the near future, following a unanimous vote by City Council to lower the speed limit on the community's North Side from 65 to 55 mph. The item was included in the consent agenda passed at the Jan. 23 council meeting.

The new speed limit could go into effect within one week of notices being published in local newspapers. In reality, it could be as late as March or even April before the state actually installs new signs reflecting the lower limit.

Final approval by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is considered a formality, given that the agency has already conducted a traffic investigation recommending the lower speed.

The new 55 mph speed limit applies to less than a mile of both sides of Texas 16 within the northern corporate city limits.

Mayor Tom Schoolcraft has also requested that the state lower the speed limit several additional miles north of the city limits; to include all of Texas 16 within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction. If the state goes along, the 55 mph zone could extend beyond Shadow Creek Canyon to near Texas 211. Any actual change would require another TxDOT traffic survey and state approval.

The agenda item passed by the council amended city ordinances that would have conflicted with the lower speed limit. The amendment cited the “safety and security of (Helotes) citizens and motoring public” as overriding concerns.

Schoolcraft said he had first contacted TxDOT about lowering the speed limit following the traffic-related death of 16-year-old O'Connor High School student Malery Martinez last September on Texas 16 near Scenic Loop Road.

“I talked to her parents and told them I would see what we could do,” Schoolcraft said.

While the two actions are not directly related, TxDOT recently lowered the speed limit west of Helotes on FM 1560 from 55 to 45 mph between Braun and Culebra roads.

San Antonio TxDOT representative Josh Donat said it was his understanding that the 45-mph zone was implemented after a traffic investigation found the prevailing speed on that stretch of road to be 62 mph. Donat said that would have triggered the state's “85-percent rule,” which sets speed limits at 15-percent below the prevailing rate of traffic.

In other action, the Helotes City Council unanimously authorized that municipal elections be held Saturday, May 10, with early voting set to run April 28-May 6. Wednesday was the first day for candidates to file for office. The terms of incumbent aldermen Edward Villanueva (Place 1), Alex Blue (Place 2) and Cynthia Massey (Place 4) are all expiring.

If no more than three candidates file for the three open seats, then the election would be canceled and the candidates who had qualified for the ballot would be automatically elevated into or returned to office. That was the scenario that played out last year. If more than three candidates file for the open seats, then the three receiving the highest vote totals would be elected to office.

The council also heard a presentation from financial advisor Ann Burger of First Southwest, outlining the various funding mechanisms available to pay for future capital improvements. During the discussion, Burger noted that the Standard and Poor's rating agency had recently raised the city's credit rating from A+ to AA; an action that should lower the interest rate the city pays on future bonds.

Burger said that Helotes residents should be gratified to know that their own city's rating has risen during a tough economic period when hundreds of municipalities across the nation have seen their credit ratings lowered.

“To get an upgrade in this environment is very significant,” Burger said. “Also, if you move from A to A+, you get a little help with interest. But when you go from A+ to AA you get much more. Just by moving into AA it expands your potential pool of investors, and that drives down interest rates.”