Austin officials outline safety, transit and event plans for spring festivals, including SXSW

Austin officials onstage at a city briefing described stepped‑up public‑safety coordination, adjusted traffic controls and expanded transit service ahead of the spring festival season — culminating this year in the 40th South by Southwest — and urged residents and visitors to follow closures and safety guidance.

“Less than 2 weeks removed from a senseless tragedy where we lost 3 innocent lives,” Mayor Watson said, offering condolences to the families of the victims and praising Austin Police, Austin Fire and Austin‑Travis County EMS for their response. He framed the city’s preparations as a continuing, year‑round effort to keep large events safe and said staff review permits, inspect venues and coordinate security plans in advance.

Angela Means, director of the Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment (ACME) department, said ACME and the Austin Center for Events have reviewed “over 120 permit applications” for events in the coming weeks and that the department is in its first year of centralized festival support. “Coordination of these events requires year‑round long strong collaboration across many city departments,” Means said.

Chief Lisa Davis of the Austin Police Department advised festivalgoers to obey street closures and barricades and to report suspicious activity. “If you see something suspicious, I want you to call 911,” Chief Davis said, while warning that street closures will begin daily at noon and the city’s no‑refusal initiative will be in effect during the festival period.

Rob Lukertz, chief of Austin‑Travis County EMS, said EMS planning for this season began after the previous South by Southwest and that specialized teams will be staged across an expanded footprint that includes East Austin and the Warehouse District. Carrie Stewart, Austin Fire’s fire marshal, said her office will perform permitting and inspections through the Austin Center for Events, provide fire watches as needed and offer drone support to public-safety agencies.

Richard Mendoza, director for Transportation and Public Works, warned of increased pedestrian, bicycle and micro‑mobility traffic because the convention center is under construction and said the city will deploy leading pedestrian cycles and monitor signals around the clock to give pedestrians extra seconds to cross at busy intersections.

Samantha Baez, CapMetro’s EVP of Experience and Engagement, said transit will be a primary way for visitors to move around downtown: rail service will offer extended late‑night departures (last trains downtown after 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and around 12:30 a.m. on Sundays and weekdays), the system now has roughly 80 bike‑share stations, and buses will accept tap‑to‑pay contactless fares for the first time this year.

Public‑health messaging focused on common protections: Dr. Desmar Walks, Austin Public Health medical director, urged people to stay home when sick, keep vaccinations up to date and follow food‑safety guidance — “don’t let food sit for more than 4 hours,” Walks said.

At a reporter Q&A, officials described how 911 calls originating inside the SXSW footprint are routed to the event command post to speed response and said staffing and resources will be placed strategically across the broader festival footprint. Tammy Richter, vice president of event operations for South by Southwest, said exact attendance figures won’t be known until after the event because of walk‑up registrations and general public participation without badges. Richter also confirmed Congress Avenue will be closed for a three‑block public block party this year.

City leaders said the focus now is execution and public cooperation: follow posted street closures, use transit and bike share where possible, obey barricades and report suspicious behavior. The briefing concluded with officials encouraging attendees to enjoy the festivals while remaining alert and patient as the city manages traffic and safety operations.