Opinion // Editorials

Stick with facts while debating Alamo plan

Here are some basic facts to remember during the heated community discussion about changes to Alamo Plaza:

There will not be a fence around Alamo Plaza downtown.

People will not be shut out from this historic and public space. Protests and assemblies will continue at Alamo Plaza. It will remain open to the public.

Closing Alamo Street does not mean there won’t be a north-south connection for vehicles across downtown. The plan proposes a nearby alternative for traffic.

A decision has not been made about razing five buildings across from Alamo Plaza.

Each of these points has been distorted, or at least presented without full context, during the public conversation about the newest interpretive plan to reimagine Alamo Plaza as a place with greater historical accuracy and proper reverence.

It’s a necessary and painful discussion for the community to have in the name of compromise. Unfortunately, hyperbole about the plan put forth by the city of San Antonio, General Land Office and nonprofit Alamo Endowment undermines that discussion.

Why? Because it takes a challenging task and makes it almost impossible to achieve compromise. We all must be cognizant about what this moment represents: a unique opportunity to better tell the Alamo’s story with appropriate reverence.

Let’s not squander it.

Yes, the plan does include landscaping, rails and some hidden fencing to control pedestrian flow to the site. That’s far different from “restricting access” as the San Antonio Conservation Society has asserted. It’s about crowd control and guiding visitors during daytime hours when the Alamo itself is open to the public. Outside of those hours, people can still visit the plaza and admire the church.

The plaza, however it is revamped, will still be a place for members of the public to gather and protest.

Yes, the plan does include the possibility of razing five buildings across from Alamo Plaza — a point of fierce debate. We welcome that debate. But let’s also recognize that’s just one in a range of possibilities in this plan. These include keeping the buildings, maintaining their façades or retaining the Crockett building’s façade. Those options are being studied, but no decision has been made.

The plan does call for closing Alamo and Crockett streets, as well as a small portion of Houston Street to provide greater pedestrian access. This has prompted concerns about traffic flow. Fair enough, but let’s also acknowledge the plan seeks to address this by making nearby Losoya Street two-way, providing a meaningful north-south connection downtown.

Also, let’s remember that closing these roads will provide a better pedestrian experience and keep vehicles from traveling on the Alamo’s historic footprint. How is it reverent to allow vehicles to drive over the Alamo’s historic footprint?

In short, access won’t be restricted, assemblies at the plaza will continue, traffic would still move across downtown, and no decision has been made about razing the five buildings.

Our guiding view on these matters, and other sensitive ones such as moving the Cenotaph, is the Alamo should be restored as close as reasonably possible to its original footprint.

The community conversation needs to continue, just as state and local officials need to hear public concerns about these proposed changes and other ones such as moving the Cenotaph. Those concerns, though, can be raised without hyperbole.