“San Antonio City Council Marks Next Steps Toward Park By Hays Street Bridge”
On April 6th, 2023, the San Antonio City Council approved a 2.5 million dollar contract to begin the construction of the Berkley V. & Vincent M. Dawson Park. The park is slated to include two skate parks, a park pavilion and open space that allows for park-goers to see Hays Street Bridge.
This comes after a year-long battle with developers and city officials alike. Patrick Danner, in his 2017 article for MySanAntonio.com, “City Wins Court Fight With Hays Street Bridge Group”, writes, “A three-judge panel of the 4th Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that city was immune from being sued for breach of contract by the Hay Street Bridge Restoration Group…the group had sued the city in 2012 to prevent the 1.7 acres next to the bridge at 803 N. Cherry St. on the near East Side from being sold to Alamo Beer Co.”
Soon after, in 2019, after plans fell through to build apartments there, plans began to be underway to develop a park in the aforementioned lot. Two years later, the San Antonio Public Works department hosted a virtual information session about the construction of the Berkley V. & Vincent M. Dawson Park.
“Today’s vote was another pivotal step in the journey to realize the vision of community leaders, organizers, and historians to create a free, public park near the Hays Street Bridge,” Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez said in a statement. “We look forward to breaking ground on the project and following it through to completion.”
In an area that continues to be gentrified, this news brings a double sided feeling to the Eastside community. As the city continues to experience population growth and attracts demographics ranging from mid to late 30’s, hipster-like, Tesla driving, coffee and tea drinking individuals, this begs the question of if this in fact will be in the best interest of the community. A community that, because of the work by members such as the Hays Street Bridge Group, continues to be the reason for why San Antonio continues to be the gold mine of opportunity that it is.
This also begs the question of whether District 2 needs another park and if other priorities have been considered such as the overwhelming construction that likens local commuting to a trek through an obstacle course, skyrocketing property taxes with little to no aid, and a longstanding bout with neighborhood violence.
Plans for the park continue to develop and information and further questions can be relayed to the City of San Antonio City Council and Public Works department.
