BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A new road connection could help reduce traffic in Davis Ranch, Silver Canyon and other neighborhoods as development continues on the far Northwest Side.
Bexar County has purchased about 1.5 acres near Davis Ranch to extend Bent Canyon Road to Farm-to-Market Road 1560. Right now, the road dead-ends on two sides. County leaders say the project to connect the roads could give drivers another route and ease congestion.
The Beverly Hills neighborhood was once quiet, but traffic increased after Davis Ranch was built, Bexar County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez said.
“As mobility becomes more and more of an issue, people look for shortcuts naturally,” Rodriguez said. “They start cutting through different areas.”
The City of Helotes worked to prevent drivers from using one of those cut-through routes with “no-thru traffic” signs. Drivers who do not live in the neighborhood can be ticketed for using it.
Rodriguez said he has heard complaints from homeowners on the other side of the city boundary.
He tried to work to change the ordinance, but efforts were unsuccessful, and Rodriguez said leaders worked to find another solution.
“We want to be good neighbors, but we also want to advance policies that make quality of life better for folks,” he said.
The county approved about $4.25 million for the project in its 2024 budget. The land purchase is now complete, and the county is working toward extending Bent Canyon Road.
Construction is expected to start in early 2027 and will take around 6 months. A spokesperson with Rodriguez’s office says the goal is to have the road finished by fall 2027.
Rodriguez said the county cannot control where new subdivisions are built in the same way San Antonio can through land-use and zoning authority.
“What the state enacts, that’s what we’re able to do,” he said. “They don’t give us land-use or zoning authority. I think the smartest thing we can do is just stay on top of planning.”
As more homes are built in the area, county leaders hope the new road connection will provide a solution they can control.
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