Admittedly, the headline is a big of hyperbole, but Mayor Hardberger wants to impose restrictions on Riverwalk business.
Hardberger’s proposal is similar to ordinances adopted by other cities seeking to limit the number of so-called formula restaurants. Large chains — those whose restaurants have the same decor, uniforms, architecture and menu — would be prohibited from spreading on the River Walk.
Essentially, in order to maintain his aesthetic preferences, Hardberger is willing to use the city’s zoning laws to restrict what property owners can do with their space. Granted, the River Walk is supposed to be a “local” attraction, but this sort of nonsense is part and parcel of why San Antonio is simply not as vibrant and interesting a city as Austin, Houston, or the dreaded Dallas.
And, to be honest, the River Walk is less of an attraction than most of the locals would have you believe. As I work downtown, I spend an awful lot of time in the few affordable, decent restaurants in that area and most of the River Walk winds through parts of town you wouldn’t really want to spend too much time in at night. The whole of downtown is dangerous a lot of the time, not Philidelphia dangerous, but dangerous enough. But, aside from that, the river smells bad, the attractions are boring, and aside from the Alamo it isn’t anything you can’t find in Boerne or at the airport gift shop.
If that environment is what Hardberger is trying to avoid, a silly zoning law isn’t going to work. Downtown would need to be a much more attractive place to do business for the River Walk to be anything other than a vagrant-populated pit and, frankly, that doesn’t seem likely at this juncture. The main reason for that is the deep, deep divide between the North and South side of town in what feels like that bad ballet dance/fight from the opening of Westside Story. Anything that’s perceived as good for the “rich” people on the North side is immediately opposed by the representatives of the South side. And so it goes.
Not that I’m advocating a re-development plan of any sort, but it’s pretty clear to even the casual observer that while the River Walk isn’t particularly great it’s really the only thing going downtown aside from The Alamo. Sure, we have the world headquarters of AT&T (bet you didn’t know that) and the world’s first air conditioned building (huzzah), but there is virtually nothing of interest downtown and Hardberger is doing absolutely no good at all by trying to put a strangle hold on the one, small, bad-smelling glimmer of hope.
