Learn Spanish (Latin America): El área está restringida, salvo para los miembros. - The area is restricted, except for the members.

Salvo means except, but you still need the preposition that logically connects the action to the noun. Because the area is restricted for the members (para los miembros), we keep para after salvo. If we just said salvo los miembros, it would grammatically imply that the members themselves are the ones being restricted, rather than the area being restricted for them.

Could I use excepto or menos instead of salvo in this sentence?

Yes! Salvo, excepto, and menos are practically interchangeable when used as exclusion markers meaning except. You could perfectly say excepto para los miembros or menos para los miembros. Salvo is just a slightly more formal option, making it very common on signs, rules, or official announcements.

Wait, if área is feminine, why does it use the masculine article el?

Feminine nouns that start with a stressed a or ha sound take the masculine article el in the singular to avoid blending the two a sounds together (saying la área is awkward to pronounce). However, the word is still completely feminine! That is why the adjective later in the sentence is the feminine restringida.

Could I use instead of here ()?