Austin leaders say the city is prepared for a slew of major events this spring, including a reimagined South by Southwest Conference & Festivals, and advised residents to be aware of impacts from traffic to public safety over the weeks ahead.
“We know and we recognize that there’s an added strain that large events put on our city resources. So when we see traffic congestion, road closures, additional public safety presence, please know that this is to ensure everyone coming to Austin will be able to have a great time in the safest way possible," Mayor Kirk Watson said.
The big picture
Austin's Spring Festival Season kicks off this month with the official start of SXSW on March 12. The 40th edition of the festival will be spread across multiple hubs and venues in and around downtown, a change partially prompted by the multiyear redevelopment of the Austin Convention Center.
SXSW's new one-week format overlaps with the start of Rodeo Austin at the Travis County Expo Center, and school and university spring breaks. Other major events coming up include MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas, ABC Kite Fest at Zilker Park, and the Austin reggae and blues festivals.
The context
This year's spring season begins soon after a deadly mass shooting on West Sixth Street, and Watson noted that incident left a different feeling for planners and attendees this month.
“There’s a little bit of anxiety, there’s a little bit of fragility that we feel about all this, because we’re less than two weeks removed from a senseless tragedy where we lost three innocent lives, and many were hospitalized and traumatized," he said.
Still, officials said city departments remain ready to work and respond to the upcoming major events as usual. Police Chief Lisa Davis said the Austin Police Department is fully staffed for festival days and will be "highly visible" around downtown during SXSW. And Robert Luckritz, Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services chief, said his department has been in planning since last spring and will have a broader EMS footprint this year.
Fire Marshal Carrie Stewart said the Austin Fire Department's special events team is ensuring all events are properly permitted and inspected. A multiagency code enforcement team will also be operating on festival nights responding to permitting and safety issues.
The city has an event operations center that's in touch with SXSW's own command center and law enforcement partners, and any 911 calls in the area will be prioritized during the event.
Zooming in
Many downtown streets will be closed or blocked off daily from noon to the early morning, and Davis said travelers should expect major traffic impacts around the city in the next week. She also urged caution by both pedestrians and motorists, and noted parking will be limited downtown with enforcement of extra tow-away zones.
Richard Mendoza, director of Austin Transportation and Public Works, also said visitors should be extra careful on city roads given increased construction activity around the convention center and long I-35. Travelers should plan ahead and expect delays and detours this spring, he said.
“We are expecting larger and more dispersed crowds throughout downtown for South by Southwest with the convention center undergoing construction. And what this will mean: There’s going to be more people walking, biking and using other mobility alternative devices ... in all places that drivers might not expect them in past years," he said.
Mendoza encouraged people to use Capital Metro bus, rail and Bikeshare during events. The transit agency has extended hours for its Red Line rail March 12-18, with last trains departing downtown at 12:30 a.m. weekdays and 2 a.m. over the weekend.
An interactive mobility map including road impacts is available online.
APD is currently running an increased DWI and no refusal initiative given spring break and festival season, in effect nightly through March 22. The department said additional officers will be deployed to make traffic stops and encourage safe driving.
What else?
Some added impacts may be anticipated due to SXSW's more dispersed format this year. Tami Richter, SXSW vice president of event operations, said the festival still doesn't have an exact count of attendees due to the popularity of walk-up registration, but said interest seems "very on par" with the past few years' events that drew hundreds of thousands to the city.
Watson said the many SXSW clubhouses, hotels and other participating venues will allow visitors to enjoy more of the city, and he expects further "reinvention" of the festival once the new convention center is open in 2029.
"What we’re hearing is people are already kind of excited about the fact that they’re going to be out and about, and see more than they might have just seen at the convention center," he said. "This is an exciting opportunity to be the creative entity that South by Southwest has always shown itself to be, and I think we’ll learn from this and see things that make it a better experience."
