Sixth Street pilot keeps vehicle lanes open, deploys barriers and signal changes; APD reports fewer uses of force

City transportation staff and Austin Police Department officials on March 20 briefed the Mobility Committee on a vehicle access pilot on Sixth Street that launched in early January and is intended to reduce crowding and improve safety in the downtown entertainment district.

Lee Austin, central area engineer in TPW, described the operational design: a three‑lane cross section in the busiest blocks (from Brazos to Red River) that reclaims the south curb lane and the north parking lane in certain blocks to create pedestrian queuing space. In the busiest two middle blocks (roughly the 300–400 blocks), staff installed rubber curbing behind which temporary fencing prevents mid‑block crosswalks. Austin said signal timing was adjusted to reduce vehicle speeds to about 20 mph and that additional “all‑red” time was added to improve pedestrian…