Businesses in the downtown area will continue to be allowed to use alleys for loading and unloading after Austin City Council approved Sept. 26 an ordinance removing a deadline for that type of use.

In March the council passed an ordinance that directed city staff to develop a downtown alley master plan, and while that process was going on, to allow loading and unloading in alleys. But that use for alleys was only allowed for about six months after it went into effect before changing back to a prohibited use.

Councilman Chris Riley said he pushed for the motion to keep loading and unloading in the alleys as a permitted use because without council action, that type of use would be restricted.

"Unless we take this action today, we will have a period where loading and unloading from alleys is not allowed, and I think that would be a mistake," Riley said. "That's the basic function of alleys, and that should be allowed."

Councilwoman Kathie Tovo's concern with the measure centered around having use of the alleys as a right of the businesses.

"If we're serious about looking at our alleys creatively and figuring out ways to use them, again as a creative and critical part of our urban landscape—as other great cities have done—I think we need to preserve our options rather than close them down at this juncture," Tovo said.

Tovo pointed to the popularity of projects including 20ft Wide, an art installation that ran from April 17–21 in an alley between Congress Avenue and Brazos Street.

"These are the kinds of creative ventures that we could do in lots of our other places, but we really close off those options if we allow loading and unloading as a matter of right," Tovo said.

Riley said that allowing loading and unloading would not hinder any efforts to use alleys in creative ways.

"Currently the code says use of the alley for loading and unloading is a permitted use," Riley said. "That is exactly what the code said at the time we had the wonderful event that we all enjoyed down in the alley. The existence of that language did nothing to impede the holding of that special event, nor will it impede the holding of similar events in the future."

Mayor pro tem Sheryl Cole said she believed continuing to allow loading and unloading fits the needs of both business and the community that wants to see varying uses in alleys.

"I think it needs to be mentioned that I think the whole council supports the creative use of our alleys and that this does not prohibit it," Cole said. "We also have business that need the ability to load and unload, and we should not be vague about that in the interim. I think that this leaves a pathway open for both options."