Shavano Park's Cliffside Trail to the Salado Creek Greenway Has a Route and a Budget. The Gate Is Still an Open Question.

Near 128 Cliffside, the pavement ends and the land falls about 20 feet through the trees, from an elevation of 914 feet to 894 feet. The Salado Creek Greenway runs at the bottom. The city's project page says "There is currently no timetable for Salado Creek Trail access." At the April 27, 2026 City Council meeting, the presenter described the spot this way: "Today there is no gate, no fence. There's no nothing securing it."

That is starting to change. The city has a set route, a budget line and contractor bids for a 400-foot concrete trail from Cliffside Drive down to the Greenway. The engineering is mostly decided. Three things are not: which contractor builds it, who will be able to walk through the gate at the top, and when construction will start.

The project got smaller, and Shavano Park is paying for it

The first plan was bigger. In August 2025, Community Impact reported that Shavano Park was competing for about $1.2 million to build a Greenway connection and trailhead near Saddletree Road and NW Military Highway. That version had a 10-foot trail from Cliffside Drive, a bike path, parking, bike racks and water fountains. It ranked third of 47 proposals.

The Alamo Area MPO's project scores list the Shavano Park request at $1,233,562 total, including $986,850 in federal money. Construction would have been bid in FY27, after design, environmental review and engineering plans were done. The project never got to a funding vote. A presentation to the Alamo Area MPO's Transportation Policy Board for October 27, 2025 notes that on October 13, 2025, Shavano Park "has since rescinded the request for funding."

City Council then started over at the scale of a single neighborhood. Here is how the local version came together, according to the city's project page:

1. October 27. Council asked the Planning & Zoning Commission for a full review of the Cliffside Drive entry point and set aside $25,000 for engineering and schematics.
2. November and December. P&Z formed a subcommittee and picked eight residents for a Citizens Advisory Panel from 19 applicants.
3. January 20, February 25 and March 4. The panel and P&Z met twice and walked the route once.
4. March 18, 2026. A town hall drew 62 people and produced 42 online survey responses.
5. April 1, 2026. P&Z voted unanimously to send its report to Council with a recommendation.

The federal plan was a 10-foot shared-use trailhead with parking. The local plan is a short footpath that starts at the end of a residential street, so the width, the slope and the gate were all worked out with a resident panel and a town hall.

Residents picked the width

The town hall showed three designs. All three included a fence and gate, with a stated preference for limiting access to Shavano Park residents.

Option B got the most support, 54.76% of town hall responses. P&Z's report described it as a balance between the more expensive Option A and the higher-maintenance Option C. The plan calls for the concrete to be tinted light brown to blend with the forest floor and finished with a broom and rock salt texture for grip when it's wet.

The route itself came out of the advisory panel's work. It stays 30 feet from nearby homes, avoids drainage conflicts and needs no switchbacks or added safety rails to meet ADA accessibility. Most of the slope averages 5 to 6%, with a short stretch of 11 to 12% near Cliffside. That short stretch runs right up to the limit in the bid documents, which say no section may be steeper than 12%.

The money comes from a billboard, not property taxes

The FY2027 budget proposed by the City Manager includes $170,000 "for trail access to the Salado Creek greenway from Cliffside Drive." The money comes from the Community Enhancement and Engagement Fund, which the budget says is "funded by electronic billboard sign land lease revenues." The city's project page also says the trail would be paid for with non-property tax revenue from that fund.

The same fund pays for city events, the citywide cleanup and resident communications. Council approved the budget ordinance on first reading September 14, and the September 21 council packet listed final adoption as an action item for the fiscal year that started October 1.

What the contract covers

The city's bid page for RFP-2026-004, the "Cliffside Salado Creek Greenway Access Nature Trail Project," set out the schedule. Required site meetings were held near 128 Cliffside on September 29 and October 5; the second was moved from October 1 because of weather. Bids were opened at City Hall at 900 Saddletree Court on October 16, and the city expected to pick a firm on October 26.

The full scope on CivCast describes the trail in detail:

• About 400 linear feet of 6-foot-wide, 4-inch-thick concrete reinforced with rebar, laid over compacted crushed-stone base
• A 12-foot cleared corridor that the city clears of trees ahead of construction, with the city mulching the cuttings and about 42 stumps left in the pathway for the contractor to work around
• Final alignment worked out with the contractor to keep tree removal to a minimum, with large rocks and boulders cleared from the work zone and allowed to stay on site
• Branches trimmed to leave at least 8 feet of clearance overhead
• Connections to the existing Cliffside concrete curb and to the City of San Antonio's Greenway without damaging either one
• A one-year warranty on the work

The city is using the Forest Service Trail Accessibility Guidelines for the trail. The bid notes that these guidelines aren't legally binding outside the National Forest System but can serve as best practice for recreation areas.

The gate is still undecided

The construction scope covers the concrete trail. It does not list a gate, a fence or any access controls. Those pieces are still being discussed.

P&Z's plan proposes a 300-foot wrought-iron fence from the corner of 128 Cliffside to the point where the land becomes too steep to cross. Power lines within 90 feet of the proposed gate would allow electronic access controls. At the April 27 meeting, the presenter said in the city's meeting video that a gate and fence would let the city limit access to residents, "pending legal guidance of course." He also raised charging fees to non-residents as an option. He said a key fob has "many advantages" over keypads or keys, then added that "final gate and security systems" are "to be decided. Those details are not in this uh report to the council."

Council took no action on the trail that night. Since then the money has been budgeted and the trail has gone out to bid. The access rules still haven't been settled in public, and the city has posted no construction dates.

Where to get on the Greenway until then

San Antonio Parks describes the northern Salado Creek Greenway as a multi-use asphalt and concrete trail from Loop 1604 south to Rittiman Road. These are the official entry points nearest Shavano Park:

Phil Hardberger Park sits between NW Military Highway and Blanco Road. It connects to the Greenway and has regular and accessible parking. Inside the park, the East trails cover 2.84 miles and the West trails 3.64 miles.

Inside the city limits, the newest place to walk or bike is De Zavala Road. The city called the project substantially complete on July 30, 2026, when the temporary 25-mph limit ended and the regular 35-mph limit came back. The rebuilt road has a bike lane, sidewalks, drainage upgrades and an overflow parking area.

To follow the Cliffside project, including the contractor pick, the access rules and any construction dates, text COSP EVENTS to 91896 to get the city's updates.

At JoHelen Clark, we follow small projects like this one because they change how a street works day to day. If you live near Cliffside and want to talk about what a new trail entrance could mean for your home, let's connect.