SAN ANTONIO – A street safety project in Beacon Hill cleared review by San Antonio’s art commission this week, advancing despite a call from Gov. Greg Abbott to “remove all political ideologies” from Texas streets.
The project plans to design and install a street art mural project near Blanco Road and Elsmere Avenue.
Joey Pawlik, the executive director of ActivateSA, said the commission’s approval was conditional. The project could move forward with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) from the city’s Department of Arts and Culture.
ActivateSA advocates for a safe and sustainable transportation system in San Antonio that considers all users of that system.
The MOU would need to draw approval from the Public Works and Transportation Departments and the City Attorney’s office.
“The aforementioned groups will be responsible for moving our project forward based on engineering / safety requirements, which includes elements such as bulbout (sic) shape and colors of the artwork,” Pawlik said in a Tuesday email to KSAT.
A document the city told ActivateSA could be considered for possible project styles shows a variety of design options, drawing inspiration from similar projects in Tucson, Arizona, and Fort Collins, Colorado.
The complete design document can be viewed below.
An arts committee in Beacon Hill selected a neighborhood resident and artist to handle the project’s artwork, Pawlik said.
Pawlik said ActivateSA was in the process of submitting a signed-and-sealed engineering plan document and a right-of-way permit request.
What is the Beacon Hill project?
In July 2025, ActivateSA was one of two San Antonio nonprofits awarded AARP funding to tackle projects addressing community needs.
ActivateSA’s projects, rooted in the tactical urbanism trend of “quick-builds,” would produce four painted “bulb-outs” on sidewalks around Blanco Road and Elsmere Avenue. Bulb-outs narrow roadways to enhance pedestrian safety.
Tactical urbanism methods often include community-driven, short-term and low-cost interventions to alleviate issues such as traffic concerns in cities.
Pawlik said in October that ActivateSA was “working with local and state officials” to review how the project could be impacted by Gov. Abbott’s order.
The project is expected to begin sometime before Dec. 15, according to a project description on ActivateSA’s website.
The far-reaching effects of Abbott’s order
Buddy Holly’s glasses in Lubbock to murals of the Guadalupe River in Kerrville are just some of the street art projects facing the governor’s retribution.
Last month, Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Transportation to enforce the removal of “any and all political ideologies” from Texas streets, warning that cities that do not comply will “face consequences.”
Non-standard surface markings, signage and signals that “do not directly support traffic control or safety” are prohibited, according to an October news release from the governor’s office.
Symbols, flags or other markings “conveying social, political, or ideological messages” are also banned, the release states, citing “federal and state guidelines for roadway safety.”
San Antonio has since filed an exemption request for rainbow crosswalks in the city’s Pride Cultural Heritage District.
In Lubbock, Holly’s hometown, the city plans to remove a four-way crosswalk depicting the rock and roll legend’s glasses in compliance with the order.
Meanwhile, Kerrville officials plan to remove their own painted crosswalks at three intersections.
“We understand the directive and don’t want to jeopardize any partnerships with the State on account of a few crosswalks,” Kerrville Assistant City Manager Michael Hornes told KSAT on Oct. 26.
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