AUSTIN, Texas — Austin police are providing more information on efforts to keep people safe on Sixth Street.
Last month, the department said it would be reopening the street to traffic on weekend evenings. But over the weekend, reports claimed the street was closed down on Saturday.
The Austin Police Department said it is prepared to shut down the street as needed for pedestrian or public safety reasons.
In a statement on Monday, APD said the department’s priority is ensuring pedestrian and community safety:
“As always, the priority of the Austin Police Department is ensuring pedestrian and community safety, and there is no one practice and or entity that can do this. We are taking a holistic approach and involving several city departments to make physical infrastructure changes in the area (e.g. remove parking to widen sidewalks, increasing lighting, increasing traffic management, working with bar management). From the onset we have stated we will be prepared to shut down the street, if necessary, in real time, either for pedestrian or public safety reasons, or to assist with people exiting the bars at closing time. Since we have had Sixth Street open to vehicular traffic, we have closed the streets late on Saturday nights for pedestrian safety and public safety reasons. When we have closed it, it has been after being opened for several hours, to assist with people exiting the bars at closing time.”
People heading downtown can expect to see wider sidewalks along with fencing and rubber curbs to keep pedestrians out of the road.
The changes come a month after a deadly attack in New Orleans, when a man from Houston purposefully crashed into pedestrians on New Year’s Day, killing 14 people in the process.
At the end of 2024, Austin began a “soft launch” of this initiative, opening Sixth Street to drivers on Thursdays and Saturdays. The initiative was temporarily halted at the start of 2025 but was restarted mid-January. APD said it did not experience issues when the street was reopened to drivers in December.
The changes are part of a broader effort to reenergize, renew and renovate Sixth Street. City leaders hope it will help businesses and create a more vibrant, walkable district.