Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway: Governor Rejects San Antonio's Redevelopment Plan

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has rejected the City of San Antonio's ambitious plan to transform Broadway from an undervalued thoroughfare into a thriving urban destination "flanked as it is by museums, parks, high-design new office buildings and thousands of popular new apartment units." As Robert Rivard writes, Abbott denied the city's plan to reduce the number of lanes to make way for bike and pedestrian infrastructure.

"What city leaders want is in essence to take the six-lane street down to four lanes, converting the recovered space into wider sidewalks, bike lanes and shade-producing trees. The purpose is to continue providing an efficient corridor to Alamo Heights and points north while better serving the thousands of residents and visitors attracted to what is fast becoming San Antonio’s most ambitiously urban neighborhood."

The fight over the street's future stems from a 2013 decision by the Texas Transportation Commission to transfer responsibility for some state routes to cities "to get them off the state maintenance rolls." While the city is eager to implement its plan, the state says it never officially made the transfer. Rivard contends that "Abbott’s move is a minor skirmish in what has become the Texas Republican war on cities and local governments." According to Rivard, "The dynamic is simple: The cities are Democratic, so the traditional conservative theory that power should be placed with the government closest to the people is obsolete."