SAN ANTONIO — With Fiesta, comes traffic. But this year, city leaders are especially urging attendees who plan to go downtown for events to plan ahead due to the amount of construction underway.
City leaders expect thousands of people to make their way downtown over the next few weeks.
The area near La Villita is surrounded by cones and gates. On Wednesday, A Night In Old San Antonio (NIOSA) festival volunteers began setting up just feet away from the construction.
“I’ve chaired frontier town for 25 years,” volunteer, April Smith said.
Smith said she wanted to make it clear that come Apr. 23, NIOSA will be in full swing.
“We are open and totally accessible for the public,” Smith said.
She does not want the eye sore of construction to discourage people form enjoying all that NIOSA and other Fiesta events have to offer.
San Antonio’s PR Manager, Kelly Saunders, said the city has been working with organizers to try and limit disruptions.
“Our public works department is doing a great job getting the word out about it,” Saunders said. “We have wayfinding signage on the sidewalks on certain areas specifically on South Alamo and near La Villita to help direct people around some of the detours there as well.”
Saunders said if you plan to drive to an event downtown, leave early and know where you are going to park. She said it is important to use navigation apps instead of relying on memory since there are detours.
The Downtown Tuesday free parking program will be temporarily suspended on Tuesday, Apr. 23 but will resume Apr. 30.
City Tower Sundays will continue to offer free parking during Fiesta on Sundays from 7 a.m. to midnight at the City Tower Garage off West Commerce Street.
But if you don't want to pay those parking fees, Via's Park and Ride program is cheaper at just a $1.30 for a one-way ticket.
“It’s very affordable,” Saunders said. “There’s various locations around downtown for various Fiesta events.”
She added, you can always use rideshares.
“There is construction and there are detours,” Saunders said. “We don’t want that to discourage anyone from coming to downtown.”
The city launched a website that shows where you can park and when certain roads will be closed due to Fiesta and construction.