SAN ANTONIO – City officials gathered at the River Walk Monday to announce and unveil the new river barge design, which will replace the old fleet in September 2017. The brightly colored barges are said to be all-electric, more ergonomic and will require minimal ongoing maintenance.
The last time the barges were redesigned was in 1968, during San Antonio’s 250th anniversary.
“Simplicity was really what drove it,” said Joe Meppelink of METALAB, the Houston firm that was picked from a pool of 12 entries to create the winning design. “It's a simple pill-shaped form, and that's kind of a reference to the city of San Antonio's logo, which is a quatrefoil design based on the mission tops. The pill-shaped form of this is kind of inscribed within that logo, so it's just a very different form.”
Meppelink said the new barges will come with 8 inches more elbow room, and 4 inches more legroom than the current barge, and will have greater wheelchair accessibility.
“Being able to ride at the same level as anyone else,” Judy Babbot, a disabled rider, said. “The old barges, the other barges, disabled people sit up above with the driver, and everybody else sits down in the same place.”
The barges will be tested over the next month to work out the kinks before all 44 are fabricated.
To celebrate the fleet, the city has launched a social media contest. The public is invited to take photos of the barges, using #NewBargeSA and @COSAgov to enter.