Nearly one year after a rogue vehicle drove into a crowd of South by Southwest attendees, Austin city officials have announced new safety precautions in place during this year's Music and Media Conference.

More police personnel will be stationed throughout downtown, including at barricades on the outskirts of downtown, during the SXSW festivities, according to Austin Police Department Chief Art Acevedo.

"There are still no guarantees when you have people who have no respect for human lives," Acevedo said during a March 11 event to announce all the changes during this year's event.

He encouraged attendees to use alternative forms of transportation, such as public transit or ridesharing options including Lyft and Uber, rather than risk driving through traffic congestion. Acevedo urged caution for those residents who do intend to drive downtown.

"Be patient, leave for your destination early and don't block intersections," he said.

To help combat traffic woes, APD is coordinating with the city's transportation department to manage intersection signals during peak periods. There will also be a team of officers dedicated to traffic control when backlogs occur, Acevedo said.

There will be approximately 200,000 people will be in attendance each day during the March 13–22 SXSW events, said Bill Manno, the city's corporate special events program manager.

"That's like hosting the Super Bowl for nine-straight days, and we're proud of that," Manno said.

Manno said the city reduced the number of temporary events permits from 168 last year to 147 in 2015. In another effort to ensure safety, the city teamed up this year with the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission, the state agency that regulates alcohol sales. There will be 32 TABC personnel running audits on businesses serving alcohol during SXSW, according to a TABC lieutenant.

"We all know abuse of alcohol ... is part of the problem and challenge we have," Acevedo said. "Word to the wise: Obey alcohol laws."

APD will also coordinate a "no-refusal" period starting 9 p.m. March 19 through 5 a.m. March 23 to enforce DWI laws.