Austin’s police chief and a city council member addressed community concerns about the safety of Sixth Street reopening in a town hall on Jan. 28.
Westbound traffic on Sixth Street from Red River Street to Brazos Street will remain open, while north and southbound traffic at San Jacinto, Trinity and Neches Street will remain closed throughout the weekend.
“(The changes are) one step forward, two steps back,” radio-television-film senior Travis Simons said on social media. “The widened pedestrian zone is amazing, but (the city) should still close the whole street to vehicles on the weekend.”
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis and District 9 Council Member Zohaib Qadri, who represents UT, West Campus and the majority of Sixth Street, said the pilot program is still in its early stages with the city and policy monitoring its effectiveness.
”I’m looking at keeping officers safe and keeping the people safe (on Sixth Street,)” Davis said. “Currently, if you’ve been down there the last few weekends, we’ve got the cars slowing down, we have officers at the intersections and they’re helping people cross because it’s amazing how people will forget how to cross the street when it’s been open all that time.”
Davis and Qadri said the pilot program is in the early stages and the city is looking for ways to improve on the initiative. One change that has been implemented by the city is the closure of Sixth Street beginning at 1:45 a.m. Thursday through Saturday to provide enough space for pedestrians to leave bars after they close.
“I don’t know (if the pilot program) will be the final recommendation, but the goal was to break up this culture of a party atmosphere,” Davis said.
Qadri said his constituents’ main concerns and questions submitted to the town hall were about the changes made to Sixth Street’s traffic pattern.
“The East Sixth Street Entertainment District wasn’t designed in a way to keep tens of thousands of visitors safe,” according to a city statement. “The closures were instituted as a way to create a safe environment for large crowds enjoying the entertainment district.”
