SAN ANTONIO — The Alamo City Advisory Council OK'd a set of design guidelines Wednesday, formally renewing efforts to redesign Alamo Plaza.
The city board stipulated the Cenotaph would be repaired, not relocated down Alamo Street. Portions of that road would close from Houston to Crockett by June 1, only allowing access to commercial vehicles and first responders.
The Alamo Street closure could extend to Commerce, though city leaders want to model traffic patterns using temporary closures before making permanent moves beyond Crockett.
"I'm excited, actually, to be at this point because it really is a reboot and it is kind of a re-centering of where we are moving forward," Council Tri-chair Sue Ann Pemberton said.
Some parades would continue, though they'd be required to demonstrate "reverence" to the landmark. Councilmembers questioned how the city would eventually enforce that guideline and which events would be allowed to continue.
"What one group or individual may think is a reverent activity, another might not see it the same way," member Christine Jacobs said.
Instead of lowering the Alamo two feet into the ground and erecting barriers around it, the new guidance calls for workers to install landscaping and pavers that mark the Alamo's historic footprint. Tourists could walk freely from the plaza to the mission-fort under the amended design.
San Antonio City Council will have to give the guidelines its final approval on April 15 before designers can begin their work.