Downtown Commission greenlights new Sixth Street barriers

The Downtown Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to recommend City Council adopt a $509,000 contract to install 65 new barriers bordering the Sixth Street Historic District as part of a broader effort to improve safety.

Similar to safety interventions undertaken during South by Southwest, the Austin Police Department would install the barriers between Thursdays and Sundays to block vehicle access to Sixth Street. The department also would work with Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services to develop a plan for accessing Sixth Street when the barriers are in place. 

“Anything that’s going to help prevent drunk drivers or any kind of driver that wants to cause harm to pedestrians on Sixth Street is going to be exponentially better than what we currently have,” police Lt. Chris Juusola told commissioners on Wednesday. “So this is a start.”

Council, in the midst of its summer recess, will return to the dais in late July to begin budget deliberations, which now could include this contract. 

The barriers would support the city’s Safer Sixth Street initiative, which Council initially passed in summer 2021 after a mass shooting on the corridor left one person dead and more than a dozen injured. 

Brian Block, nightlife and entertainment manager for the Development Services Department, updated the commission on the initiative at the same meeting.

“The vision is that Sixth Street will be a welcoming, vibrant, safe and well-planned entertainment district,” he said, citing a wider variety of businesses and activities, spanning beyond nighttime drinking, as a goal. 

So far, Austin Energy has replaced inoperable light fixtures along Sixth Street with LED bulbs that brighten at closing time. The Development Services Department also debuted its Nightlife Establishment Training Program in April; about 35 bar owners, managers and staff attended a session about how to respond to an active shooter. 

Meanwhile, Block said the department is encouraging private property owners to install lighting along the back alleys. They’re also working to offer additional trainings, including on how to administer the opioid-overdose antidote naloxone, develop de-escalation skills, manage crowds and prevent sexual assault.

In addition, the department is preparing to launch its Nightlife Establishment Accreditation Program, which aims to improve business-operating standards along Sixth Street through voluntary participation. 

“If we can get bars enhancing their practices and implementing policies and procedures, that’s the goal of this program,” he said. 

As part of this effort, the department is considering a grant program – modeled on one in Orlando, Florida – that would offer funding to accredited businesses for safety improvements like security cameras, lighting and ID scanners. 

Block told commissioners that the department hasn’t yet come up with the amount of grant funding needed, but it envisions distributing as many $5,000-$10,000 grants as possible.

Chair August Harris seemed receptive to the idea, telling the department to bring a funding request at its next appearance. He also suggested the accreditation program could help bar owners lower their insurance premiums, which Block seconded.

“I’m sure they pay a gazillion dollars for insurance,” Harris said. “It might be a real incentive for them to participate.” 

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Posted In: Public Safety, District 9