Last month, downtown San Antonio received low marks on a visitor survey conducted by Centro San Antonio. The full survey has not been released to the public yet, but some visitor complaints were shared with the San Antonio City Council.
Survey respondents mentioned safety concerns downtown and disappointment in the city’s ability to mitigate homelessness in San Antonio. Another area of discontent by those surveyed was public transportation and parking.
The non-profit works to serve downtown San Antonio through the management of a Public Improvement District. While Centro is a steward of downtown San Antonio, the non-profit organization only works with other community partners to clean, revitalize, and encourage economic growth in the area.
Those surveyed gave unsatisfactory remarks about issues larger than the non-profit’s ability to solve. Many of the challenges cited by survey respondents are bigger systemic issues at play across the U.S.
Data from the United States Census Bureau suggests that San Antonio saw an increase in population from 2020 to 2021 and that San Antonio is one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S.
How can city officials ensure visitors feel safe in downtown San Antonio as the city continues to grow? What were the results of the recent survey conducted by Centro San Antonio? Which organizations does Centro partner with to address these challenges? How will Centro San Antonio now use this data to improve visitor experience downtown?
Guests:
- Matt Brown, CEO of Centro San Antonio
- Deputy Chief Chris Benavides, San Antonio Police Department
- Rev. Gavin Rogers, M.Div., executive director of Corazón San Antonio
- Patrick Steck, assistant director for the City of San Antonio Department of Human Services
"The Source" is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org or tweet @TPRSource.
*This interview was recorded on Monday, October 10.