Mayor Kerr Watson and Police Chief Davis announced at a public event in downtown Austin that the city will expand sidewalks, install barriers and change traffic patterns on Sixth Street and will monitor the effects as the area reopens to vehicle traffic Thursday through Sunday.

The announcement matters because Sixth Street is a longtime cultural and entertainment corridor in downtown Austin that city leaders said draws large numbers of visitors and residents; officials described the measures as intended to make the corridor safer and more walkable while preserving its role as a venue for live music and nightlife.

At the event hosted at a downtown restaurant, Mayor Kerr Watson described Sixth Street as “la esquina de la sala donde todo mundo se reúne” and said the city must act to keep the area “segura… para los peatones,” tying the changes to broader efforts to sustain downtown as an economic and cultural center. Police Chief Davis summarized the enforcement and safety rationale and said the city has tested parts of the plan: “hicimos un lanzamiento suave en diciembre para abrir esas partes en la calle seis en los domingos y los jueves sin incidente,” and that the city will evaluate and make adjustments as needed.

Ana Martín, assistant director of the Department of Transportation and Public Works, described specific street-design measures the city has installed or will install. City crews have placed rubber curb elements (banquetas de goma) and will add fences adjacent to those curb elements to separate pedestrian space from vehicular lanes and to prevent pedestrians from stepping directly into traffic. Martín said the changes aim to provide flexibility for weekend operations while improving pedestrian safety and connectivity to the downtown street grid.

Sharon Scully, a board member and director of the public experience committee at the Downtown Austin Alliance, said the alliance supports the changes and called the plan “sufficiently flexible” to be adjusted after city monitoring. Several downtown property and business owners attended the event; Mayor Watson thanked restaurateur Sean Cirkill for hosting the gathering.

City officials said the measures include reallocating public-safety and medical-response resources to the downtown entertainment district. Watson and other speakers said the current city budget included funds to increase presence in the entertainment district, and the mayor noted officials have been spending “millones de dólares al año” in the small geographic area of downtown to provide additional resources; the transcript did not provide a precise budget figure.

Officials listed several operational steps the city will take: maintain expanded sidewalks and temporary fencing on weekend nights, monitor traffic and pedestrian flows, deploy additional paramedic and emergency vehicles in the area, and conduct interdepartmental inspections and code enforcement at night. A city official referred to using smaller fire-response vehicles and all-terrain vehicles to navigate congested areas.

No formal council vote or ordinance was announced at the event. City leaders described the plan as an operational initiative already under way — including a soft launch in December — and said staff will continue to collect data, monitor safety outcomes and make changes before and after larger events such as South by Southwest.

Officials asked the public to use caution and lower vehicle speeds in the area while the changes are in effect. The city will report back on monitoring results and any further adjustments.