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Centro San Antonio will introduce a new tool to improve safety and enhance the downtown experience as the area continues to see rising residential density and increasing visitor activity.
The nonprofit — whose ambassadors help keep downtown clean and vibrant — will partner with ELERTS Corp. to pilot the so-called “See Say” platform. The real-time reporting app will allow downtown residents and visitors to quickly report non-emergency concerns directly to Centro Ambassador headquarters.
Users can provide details like location, time, photos, and description of the incident to report any issues. This could include graffiti, trash, maintenance concerns, and safety observations. A Centro dispatch team or crisis response team will then be deployed to quickly assess the issue.
“This platform creates a direct line of communication between the community and the teams actively working downtown every day,” said Trish DeBerry, president and CEO of Centro San Antonio in a news release. “It gives people confidence that concerns can be reported easily and addressed quickly.
The See Say platform is currently used in major airports and public transit agencies across the country. The decision to employ it stems from successful models in several Public Improvement Districts in the U.S., including downtown Dallas.
The program is currently being tested with a pilot group that includes downtown property owners, leadership from the San Antonio Police Department, city staff, and homeless services agencies.
Centro reports early results from the initial two-month testing window have shown positive outcomes.
An additional pilot phase is underway. A broader public rollout is expected by later this fall.
Centro officials said in a news release the pilot will not only improve operational response times but also help establish a centralized and coordinated approach to downtown stewardship.
