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Now that we’ve learned a little about how SXSW benefits Austin, it’s time to focus on the not-so-positive aspects of SXSW. WARNING: This might get a little dark.

SXSW started in March of 1987 and was projected to have approximately 150 attendees. Instead, more than 700 people came. And it just went up from there. The first major spike in SXSW attendance was in 2010, when the interactive portion of the event drew in 40% more people than the previous year’s festival. The following year, more than 20,000 people attended the festival — the most on record (until 2013). With that many people flooding the city, there are a number of safety concerns to address.

On March 13, 2014, 21-year-old Rashad Owens drunkenly drove his car through a crowd of festival goers waiting for a show outside of The Mohawk on Red River St. Four people died as a result of the crash and dozens of others were injured. It was the first time any serious fatalities arose during SXSW, but it scared festival goers enough that the City of Austin decided something needed to be done in order to avoid this sort of tragedy happening again.

In 2015, the City of Austin cut the number of free shows and parties available during SXSW, many of which entice people to attend by offering free alcohol and music, by nearly 25% in an effort to lower the number of drunk pedestrians and drivers on the streets. While locals may have been in a tizzy about losing their free shows, the idea of limiting the number of free events available actually proved to be somewhat effective — despite reporting long lines and maximum capacity at many of the events around town, there were no major safety issues reported during SXSW 2015. In fact, fire marshals were on top of their stuff this year and sanctioned more than 18 venues that were not meeting safety regulations.

So how are large festivals and overpopulation connected? And are there any real solutions?
To answer the first question, large festivals such as SXSW, Coachella, and Lalapalooza attract literally tens (and even hundreds) of thousands of people each year to begin with, but with population on the rise, these events are sure to draw in larger and larger crowds as the years tick by. Some festivals, such as Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL) have attempted to limit the chaos by extending the event to two weekends rather than the typical one weekend only. Unfortunately, this method has proven to be ineffective. Rather than having one crazy weekend, there are now two — not really something the locals look forward to in October (when traffic is already bad enough for UT football season). Other festivals have followed in SXSW’s footsteps and attempted to limit the number of activities during the festival — this has been somewhat effective and safety has become less of an issue.

As far as solutions are concerned, there are lots of options available, but executing them will take time and will likely require years of revisions to truly perfect. Until then, there are ways in which you can help make your city safer during times of increased visitors.

Remember to Use a Taxi/Rideshare Option(s)

As discussed in a previous blog, taxis and rideshare options such as Uber and Lyft are available in dozens of major cities across the United States. If you’re going to be drinking, there is NO EXCUSE AT ALL to drive — allocate the extra money for your weekend to be able to afford increased prices for these services during high-volume events.

Drink Plenty of Water

Not only does drinking water help you stay somewhat sober, it keeps you from dehydrating. Dehydration is a serioussafety riskduring large festivals — with all the fun surrounding you, it’s easy to forget to grab a bottle of water before heading to the stage. This is a huge mistake to make and could end up costing you a lot of wasted time, wasted money, or even worse — your life. Stay sober, stay healthy, and drink your water!

Keep Your Belongings Close

Theft is another safety concern during big festivals. Some theft operations area little bigger in scale, but armed robbery and car break-ins are not uncommon. Be sure to carry a minimum amount of cash and be prepared to alert your bank if your debit card is stolen. Luckily, we are in a day and age where you can quickly cut off your cell phone or credit card ifyou’re caught in a sticky situation and vehicles can be traced using GPS tracking systems in the worst case scenario that someone jacks your ride GTA style. Don’t travel alone — always have a friend (preferably, many friends) with you and avoid areas that seem sketchy (dimly lit passageways, secluded areas, or parking garages that are not staffed with security guards). You are in control of your safety more than you know!Have a big festival experience you want to tell us about? Good experience? Bad experience? Let us know in the comments section below!

Forbes lists Austin, Texas as the 4th US city with the worst traffic, sandwiched between San Francisco at number 3 and New York at 5. So just how is it that a laid back, eclectic, and fun-loving city like Austin has such an appalling case of congestion? We’re about to get into that.

Coincidentally, Forbes also lists Austin as the fastest growing city in the nation with a population of 1.8 million and a growth rate of 2.8%! This is a heavily weighted factor in our dilemma of traffic jams for a few reasons.

First of all, as stated in this NPR article, Austin has long been a city opposed to growth and industrialization. The liberal atmosphere never allowed for mass growth and therefore, no infrastructure was erected in regards to that sentiment. The article continues stating that this mentality is one of a “If We Don’t Build It, They Won’t Come” idealization. However, this thought process has obviously failed any Austinite that has driven ( if you call 2 mph “driving”) along I-35 around 4:30-6pm. Actually, KXAN states that Austin drivers wasted a sum of 41 total hours stuck in traffic in 2014.

However, there is hope! Gov. Tech. explains the possibility of utilizing crowd sourcing for data on how to better improve traffic lights. This could potentially be a structural answer to the ever-lasting issue of traffic. Ideally, this smart-version of congestion control is something we could see being implemented in the next few years. Another structural solution is that of infrastructure like ideas such as Prop. 1 have proposed. Unfortunately, Austin’s residents seemed to think implementing a railway in a strange location would be an unnecessary waste of tax dollars.

Another phenomenon to observe is the course of housing costs and their correlation with traffic. Various residents often cite having to move complete locations in order to happily commute to work or leisure. Therefore, housing rates increase and make Austin a more expensive place to live.

Each of these occurrences, stemming from Austin’s desire to maintain it’s cool and quirky vibe have consequentially been it’s visible downfall. And unfortunately, if structural answers aren’t put into place, we might see this once lively, peculiar, city become a town full of angry motorists.

Lastly, If there’s one nice thought to have while you’re stuck watching the sunset on the capitol building as the hours go by, it’s that traffic has been shown to have a direct relation with economic health. So if you’re not doing well in the traffic, at least your city is!

I-35 photo by Deborah Cannon