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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!

With the rate at which the world is expanding, it’s no surprise that traffic has begun piling up across the globe. In our own city, it usually takes around two hours to travel a 10 mile distance during peak traffic hours — which seems to be any time Monday-Friday and nights on the weekends. Shockingly enough, there are cities with much worse traffic than ours (which we almost refuse to believe, even though the statistics speak for themselves). Traffic may seem like a huge, inevitable headache, but there are plenty of ways you can change your methods of travel that could help lighten traffic!

1. Public Transportation

Public transportation is any form of transportation that is not a personal vehicle, bicycle, or motorcycle. Many cities refer to their public transportation options as “public transit.” In the United States, New York City sees the highest number of public transit users than any other major city. In fact, a study conducted by FiveThirtyEight Data Labs found that New York City has more public transit users than the sixteen other cities with highest volume of public transit users combined. That same study found that a majority of the best public transit systems are located along the Northeast and West coasts, while the worst public transit systems are located in the south, including Texas and Oklahoma. The Midwest has some cities with extremely successful public transit systems (Chicago, Minneapolis, Baltimore, etc.) and others that are not as successful. In this study, public transit included buses, trains, subways, and monorails. Public transit systems do cost money, but the most a passenger will likely have to pay, even in major cities, is less than $10 a day. In our weird city, we turn to Capital Metro for all of our public transit needs. To determine what your cities’ public transit has to offer, simply Google “[your city] public transit system” and you should have no problem finding fees, schedules, and services available in your city.

2. Carpooling

Got a bunch of cool friends? Get together with your work or school buddies and come up with a carpool schedule for the week! Not only is it fun to ride with friends and suffer through the traffic together, carpooling with friends will help reduce the amount of traffic in your city. Think of it this way. You and four of your co-workers all live within five miles of one another. Each morning, you all leave your homes around the same time and arrive to work around the same time. Including yourself, there are now five cars on the road headed towards the same destination at the same time. If yourself and your four co-workers got together and devised a carpool schedule, the five cars on the road each morning has now been reduced to one. While it may not seem like a huge impact, imagine the difference it would make if everyone in your office chose to carpool to work. A company with 50 employees could slash the number of cars being driven to work by 80% if everyone went five to a car. WOW!

3. Other Ride Sharing Options

If carpooling or public transit do not seem like your cup of tea, consider other ride sharing options such as taxi cabs, Uber, or Lyft. All of these ride share options operate under the same basic pretense: you call for a ride, someone arrives to pick you up, you pay based off a base rate + distance + time + tip (and in some cases a safety fee) and you’re at your destination! For the most part, taxis tend to cost a bit more than Uber or Lyft. In our awesome city, Uber costs a bit less than Lyft, but BOTH are cheaper than Yellow Cab. The drivers for Lyft and Uber are required to have a clean driving record to ensure that only the safest drivers are getting you to and from your destination. The wait times for these ride share services tend to be much less time than the wait for a taxi. During peak hours, some ride share services tend to up their prices, so be sure to check the price before you book a car! If you’re interested in finding out if Uber or Lyft are available in your city, just click the links!
Have an interesting way that you’re lowering traffic in your city? Got a traffic nightmare story you just need to vent about? How about a favorite song to listen to while stuck in traffic? Comment below and let us know what’s on your mind!