Ongoing construction projects in downtown San Antonio could have an impact on the Fiesta experience, but officials have a plan to make sure Fiesta revelers aren’t fazed by traffic cones while they’re eating their chicken on a stick.
Leave for your destination early, take the bus, and ride share, Fiesta and city officials recommend.
But the orange traffic drums, street closures and detours aren’t pausing or going away for the 11 days of Fiesta.
“[Construction] is going to present some challenges,” said Steve Rosenauer, executive director of the Fiesta Commission. “But one of the pieces of advice I’m trying to give everybody is make a plan for your transportation downtown, and make the plans early.”
Fiesta and city officials have said construction should not have an effect on planned events, though construction at the Alamo Plaza has taken over a part of South Alamo Street and single roadways with two-way travel along downtown streets. Traffic impacts can be expected near “A Night in Old San Antonio” at La Villita and Fiesta de los Reyes at Historic Market Square.
The streets surrounding Fiesta de los Reyes, a daily event held throughout Fiesta, will be among the most affected by construction, due to a single roadway, two-way traffic on Santa Rosa Avenue and West Commerce Street at Historic Market Square.
The city plans to close Westbound Commerce Street at Santa Rosa daily at 6 p.m., and will keep it closed on the weekends for events. The city will temporarily open portions of San Saba Street between Nueva and Commerce street for pedestrians, ideal for those who plan to park at the paid lot near Goodwill.
If you’re attending Fiesta events, officials recommend using VIA Metropolitan Transit Park and Ride, San Antonio’s bus shuttle service. Some Fiesta events eligible for park and ride include NIOSA, the Texas Cavaliers River Parade and the Battle of Flowers Parade.
The full service schedule, with drop-off and pick-up locations can be found online.
Single lane traffic flow on Cesar Chavez Boulevard could also affect traffic heading to NIOSA or the King William Fair in the historic Southside neighborhood on April 27.
The city said it plans to close the lane at 4:30 p.m. every day during NIOSA to accommodate pedestrian traffic for commuters who plan to park at the three paid lots on South Alamo Street.
Spokeswoman for the city’s public works department Nadia Canales said the city installed pedestrian ground stickers on South Alamo street last week and will install additional lighting for a safe pedestrian experience.
April Smith, a volunteer at the Frontier Town at NIOSA, said constriction will “absolutely not” affect NIOSA experience, or the event’s sales. All gates at La Villita will be open, she said, and she encouraged people to choose Park and Ride or ride share.
“I don’t feel like construction will have any impact. It’s people getting here,” she said. “It may be challenging, road-wise … [but] I believe access should be great,” she said. “$1.30 per person [for Park and Ride] is pretty cool in my book.”
The Battle of Flowers and Fiesta Flambeau parade routes are also affected due to construction on Alamo Plaza, but Rosenauer said the Alamo Trust, Inc. is making adjustments to the parade route so that the parade, floats and bands can pass through the Plaza.
Rosenauer said the Fiesta Commission had to lose some bleachers on the south end of the Alamo Plaza near the Rivercenter Mall, and more seating along South Alamo Street in front of the Alamo Plaza. He said the commission relocated some of those bleachers from the Alamo Plaza to a new area on Lexington Avenue.
Emily Baucum, spokesperson for the Alamo Trust, Inc. said the Alamo will make it possible for the parades to continue going in front of the Alamo by adding ground cover over constrcution grounds, like last year, she said.
The city also plans to open the sidewalks for pedestrians at the Broadway and Brooklyn Avenue intersection for the parades.
“There is construction, and that’s just something that happens when cities are growing,” Rosenauer said over the phone as he drove through Cesar Chavez Blvd. on Wednesday.
Public Works this week reopened Broadway to two-way northbound and southbound traffic on the entire corridor, Canales said. Although there are no more road closures blocking two-way traffic, construction on Broadway will continue until its expected completion in the summer.
She said other road closures will be updated on Waze and Google Maps navigation apps.
“We also work with partner departments to temporarily close certain roads at the request of Fiesta organizers,” Canales said.
SAPD’s Fiesta Traffic Control Plan includes guiding pedestrians and motorists to the biggest events, including Fiesta Fiesta!, A Taste of New Orleans and the Battle of Flowers Parade.
Expect large crowds, limited parking, and if you plan to drink, plan ahead with a designated driver or ride share, SAPD said.
Gini Garcia, the owner of Garcia Art Glass who has lived and worked in the neighborhood for 23 years, is no stranger to the Fiesta crowds. Her art gallery and studio is located behind a gated parking lot wedged in between two buildings on South Alamo Street, about two blocks away from La Villita.
In past years, she’s had random cars park in her lot during daytime Fiesta events, and worries cars will take spots in the employee and customer parking lot she shares with Blush Restaurant & Bakery. There’s enough parking for Garcia’s employees, who arrive mostly at 5 a.m., but she’ll have to watch out for people leaving cars, and plans to lock the gate with access to the lot at 6 p.m.
“There’s always Fiesta traffic, there’s construction on Cesar Chavez and on Alamo. … I don’t understand how, when hundreds of people are trying to come to NIOSA, how is that not going to be affected?” she said. “Maybe [the city] has other parking plans or they’re diverting traffic. I don’t know.”
Although traffic is a hassle, Garcia said the exciting projects are good for the neighborhood, and especially for her property values.
