Making the grade

UT San Antonio's newly approved master plan bringing citywide changes

Walkability is just one of the key tenants of the UTSA master plan.

Rendering courtesy of Page/UTSA

In June 2018, a dynamic Campus Master Plan Initiative was launched with the purpose of guiding the physical growth of the University of Texas at San Antonio’s two campuses over the next ten years.

Led by provost and vice president for academic affairs Kimberly Andrews Espy, the Campus Master Plan Task Force, a diverse representative group of university leadership and internal partners, created a planning framework for developing the campuses abilities to effectively support a projected student enrollment of 45,000 — a leap from their current 32,000 mark.

The group was also tasked with developing a plan to enrich the overall culture of the university, which include the Main and Downtown campus; expand its research enterprise; and develop new degree programs while also adding 5.3 million gross square feet of new space.

Created in consultation with the design firm Page, the project is a culmination of a large-scale collaborative process involving UTSA staff, faculty, students, alumni, and various community members. The yearlong planning phase was comprised of interviews, targeted focus groups, committee meetings, forums, and a handy online survey.

On November 15, the UTSA Board of Regents officially approved the master plan.

Signature proposals for the older Main campus, located on the city’s Northwest Side, include Via Verde, an open space in the center of the campus. Other highlights include creating a southeast gateway to the campus, a mixed-use housing development called the Roadrunner Village, a new east-west paseo, embedded plazas, courtyards, and green space.

The creation of a much-hoped-for campus loop road would ease vehicular congestion — perhaps the best news to those who make the grueling daily commute from across the city. Also, a focus on improved ways to utilize the Park West campus for specific sporting and recreational activities is also in the works.

Because of its unique environment, plans for the Downtown campus were developed with a few site-specific key principles. Some of the proposals include embracing an urban campus model to include creative physical and programmatic points of entry to connect the campus to the community including the Westside as part of UTSA’s Westside Community Partnerships Initiative, which will continue the university’s ongoing commitment as a Hispanic-serving institution.

The plan also proposes sharing facilities with the university’s neighbors while promoting a welcoming environment for the local community, increase and improve open space, promote heritage and art, provide in-community learning experiences, support local businesses and organizations, and become a leader in sustainability and environmental stewardship.

“In total, the plan calls for adding nearly 5.3 million gross square feet of new space to accommodate the growth in campus population and the university’s projected academic and research priorities,” wrote Andrews Espy in a campus-wide email on November 11. “These new buildings and features would be constructed over many years to come, as funding and resources allow.”

Considering the university is closely knitted into the fabric of the city, the Regents' approval of the UTSA master plan is a blueprint for the future of San Antonio, too.

“The UTSA Campus Master Plan articulates a roadmap to guide the university’s future physical development, investment and growth to advance academic excellence for the success of our diverse students and to promote the socioeconomic vibrancy of our communities through the provision of access and knowledge development,” said UTSA President Taylor Eighmy in a release. “The plan draws from the university’s and community’s history and legacy, leverages local assets and projects a forward-looking framework for UTSA’s future.”

And now, UTSA will begin the decade-long journey to making that future a reality.

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Red Light

San Antonio City Council votes to end horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

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Horses will no longer pull carriages on the streets of downtown San Antonio.

Life for a horse in San Antonio is about to look a lot different. City Council has unanimously voted (with one abstention) to phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages over the next five years. That means by January 1, 2030, there will be none on the streets at all; instead, there will be electric carriages.

These plans have been in the making since 2022 — if not always at the same level of intensity — when District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran wrote up some concerns about the horses' wellbeing. A special session at the end of October 2024 hinted to San Antonians that the end for this practice was neigh — sorry, nigh — and the final vote was made on December 12. In addition to accepting the plan, it extended its timeframe by two years.

The initial proposal included worries about the horses' exposure to traffic and pollution, as well how their presence might exacerbate those issues for the environment at large by slowing traffic. It also raised concerns about the effects of standing or walking on hard surfaces for too long, or spending time in extreme weather.

At the December 12 meeting, San Antonians gave impassioned speeches about animal welfare — both to call attention to the need for better conditions and to defend the reputations and jobs of current horse drivers — but it wasn't the first time the council heard from the public about the issue.

In a prior city survey, 50,476 respondents weighed in. Of those respondents, 51.98 percent said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." There were alternative solutions listed, but respondents were less drawn to them.

A cultural divide emerged in the data and continued in the December meeting: some people avoided the carriages because they worried about the treatment of the horses, while others enjoyed them because of their historical echoes and living legacy. Many speakers in favor of the plan used this to form their argument, raising questions about history versus progress.

More tangible objections to the plan hinged on the businesses — specifically five companies — and jobs that would be lost, which was the main factor behind extending the adjustment period.

Discussions about the particulars of the electric vehicles are still to come, as confirmed in the discussion near the end of the meeting. Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez addressed concerns about what would happen to the horses, mentioning the Brady Hunter Foundation as a future partner in finding them rescue homes.

Some council members also brought up rhetorical questions about animal exploitation by groups like Sea World, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, military and police forces, and even various groups in the Fiesta parade, although these did not come with a formal motion to pick the issues up.

This decision could have a ripple effect on other Texas cities. Dallas has recently considered a similar ban, but it appears to have stalled; Austin's attempts at a ban have been unsuccessful, but according to the Austin-American Statesman, only one operator is permitted to bring horses downtown. She declines to do so because the long hours are unfair to her and the horses. Houston does have horse-drawn carriages, and there seems to be little conversation about banning them.

Cities like Chicago and Salt Lake City have led the charge in the United States with some of the most prominent successful bans. Other cities around the world with bans include Brussels and Guadalajara, which both switched to electric models. Bans that have been around for years, like Guadalajara's and Prague's, still aren't out of the woods — people are still pushing back on the decision, so it sounds like San Antonio still has much work cut out for it.

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