SXSW Look Ahead

Anticipated road closures, transit services for SXSW

Austin Photo Set: News_Jessica Pages_SXSW_music Day 1_march 2012_night

Photo by Jessica Pages

KVUE -- Thousands of people are expected to fill Austin streets starting March 8 for the SXSW festivities. The City of Austin says this will result in changes in traffic patterns in downtown Austin as well as expanded transit services for the festival-goers.

During the SXSW Music, Film and Interactive Conferences and Festivals, there will be partial and full street closures throughout the downtown area beginning Friday, March 8, through Sunday, March 17.

Sixth Street will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. each weekday and on the first weekend of SXSW for commuter traffic.
Sixth Street will be open for deliveries to businesses inside the closure area weekdays from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m.. It will be closed all day Saturday, March 16.
Downtown roadways that will remain open throughout the festival include Fourth and Fifth and Seventh through 10th streets. Recommended alternative routes for traveling east and west include 15th and 11th streets.

Click here for a map of all SXSW street closures.

Aside from planned street closures, a number of private parties and events are anticipated downtown and just east of I-35 which may create additional traffic delays throughout the festival.

Capital Metro will expand its services throughout the 10-day festival.

MetroRail will offer expanded weekend hours and weekday frequency.
The MetroAirport Flyer will operate every 15 minutes with service to/from downtown, the University of Texas and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
Capital Metro also offers late-night options.

Click here to learn more about SXSW transit options.

March is always a busy month at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Passengers are advised to arrive in the airport terminal at least two hours prior to departure time March 6 through March 20, and at least 90 minutes early for all other days. Ticketing and security lines will be longer than usual with events such as SXSW, spring break, and Rodeo Austin bringing thousands of extra travelers through the airport.

Click here for more travel tips at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Austin’s park system will still be under a burn ban during the festival.

Areas of Auditorium Shores and Brush Square Park will remain open for park users and pet owners, but a portion of the parks will be closed at times during the festival for public and private events.

Austin police are also stepping up their patrol. APD has arranged for additional officers, which will allow the department to improve response to emergency traffic issues, crowd management and emergency issues.

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Read the full story on KVUE.com.

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More Foraging

Free 'food forest' in East Austin expands with thousands of new plants

Angelina Alanis at Festival Beach Food Forest

Photo courtesy of KVUE

Angelina Alanis gives a tour of the garden, which is open to anyone.

In East Austin, there is an edible forest garden called Festival Beach Food Forest where anyone can walk around and harvest free produce, nuts, medicinal plant leaves and herbs. And over the summer, it grew to several times its size.

The forest has fig trees, peach trees, grapevines, asparagus and more that's not in season right now. You can grab passionfruit and plants like yaupon holly, with leaves that can make a caffeinated tea, rosemary and lemon balm.

"[Lemon balm] is part of the mint family," said Angelina Alanis, communication and partnership coordinator for Festival Beach Food Forest. "It has a lemony taste but it's good for a nervous stomach. I'm prone to anxiety so I always grab a hunk."

The food forest is located right next to Interstate 35 and Lady Bird Lake on 29 Waller St., near a part of town that's known for being a food desert, lacking grocery stores.

"There's as much as a 20-year life expectancy difference between parts of East and West Austin, and a lot of that comes down to food access, health care access and also access to nature."

Alanis said for the past nine years, the volunteer-based grassroots project been helping with the issue and just recently expanded in the summer from two-thirds of an acre of city parkland to over 3.5 acres.

"We're going to have hundreds of new trees," said Alanis. "We've already planted 150 new trees in the area and then thousands of plants on the ground."

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They also plan to add a community kitchen and a pavilion to do things like cooking classes or informational sessions.

Read the full story at KVUE.com.

health wellness gardening volunteering