Street grates near downtown causing havoc for bicyclists

Bike accidents cause thousands of dollars in health bills

SAN ANTONIO – You can see more and more bicycles along San Antonio streets as the way to get around becomes more popular, especially downtown. But for some cyclists, a street grate that runs across East Grayson Street and Broadway has become a road hazard.  

Two cyclists say they had serious accidents caused by that grate, which sent them to the hospital.

Two weeks ago, Tia Moen was in a bike accident that left her physically and emotionally scarred. She blames the grates across East Grayson.

"This time as I was merging and looking for traffic behind me. I just caught it with my wheel, and since it's long enough, there's no way for me to get out of it. My whole tire sunk into the grate and I went over the handlebars," said Moen.

That accident knocked her unconscious and also chipped several of her front teeth. She will have to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket to get the dental work done.

"I had lacerations through my lips, so it's still difficult to speak and painful, and I had three chipped teeth, and I'll have to have a root canal at the end of the year," said Moen.

Emily Reynolds' bike tire also got caught in the grates. Fortunately for her there was no car traffic behind her.

"I also flipped over my handlebars and crashed. I had a gash on my left side, I got a concussion and my chin was also bruised," said Reynolds.

Trent Banks, general manager of Sam's Burger Joint, said the grates look hazardous, especially to cyclists.

He said his workers have helped several cyclists who have wrecked due to the grates. He also believes the city knows it's a dangerous spot, because during Fiesta the grates were covered up.

"If they're covering it for the traffic for the parades, I don't see why they can't just take care of it and fix it," said Banks.

Both women have filed formal complaints with the city about their bike accidents. The city has yet to respond to either of them.

The city did tell KSAT-12 metal strips will be placed on the grates to keep tires from getting stuck at different locations throughout the city. 

At the East Grayson and Broadway location, workers should have metal strips in place by the close of the business day Friday.