AUSTIN (KXAN) — Over the last year, city leaders in Austin have floated proposals to change some of the most popular streets with heavy pedestrian traffic. That includes re-opening a chunk of Sixth Street while closing parts of Congress Avenue.
“Keeping it closed is probably for the best,” Jeremy Lee said speaking on a proposed pilot plan that would keep Sixth Street open to traffic all the time.
The employee at The Dizzy Rooster sees first-hand what happens along the bar-lined street.
“Just upping the security, if that’s the main issue, but having a few police posted keeps it pretty safe,” Lee added.
As of now, Austin police close Sixth Street between Red River to Congress on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, as well as special events. That new pilot program by the city is expected to happen sometime in the “winter months” before South by Southwest in March. However, the city has not released when it could happen.
On nearby Congress Avenue, the city is expected to release a report early this year on a $130 million plan to revamp it. Areas from Riverside Drive to 11th Street would get upgrades. The city is also eyeing a potential pedestrian-only plaza on Congress between Seventh and 11th streets.
Officials have said the main goal of that particular project is to make Congress the “Main Street of Texas” as it leads to the capitol building.
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Conceptual renderings of the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative (Courtesy Austin Transportation and Public Works Department) -
Conceptual renderings of the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative (Courtesy Austin Transportation and Public Works Department) -
Conceptual renderings of the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative (Courtesy Austin Transportation and Public Works Department) -
Conceptual renderings of the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative (Courtesy Austin Transportation and Public Works Department) -
Conceptual renderings of the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative (Courtesy Austin Transportation and Public Works Department) -
Conceptual renderings of the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative (Courtesy Austin Transportation and Public Works Department)
However, not everyone is for the Congress changes including one downtown resident who talked to KXAN earlier this fall.
“The more you do that restrict the avenues in which you can get around, the more it dissuades people to want to come,” he said.
Councilman Zo Qadri oversees downtown as part of his district. His office told KXAN because of what happened in New Orleans the proposed street changes are expected to be a topic of discussion when council has its first meeting at the end of January.
On New Year’s Day, a driver rammed his pickup truck into a crowd, which killed 10 people, before he was shot to death by police, according to authorities.
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