Starting today, city crews will begin replacing the water-filled barricades on East Sixth Street with concrete barriers. The swap is one step in Austin’s effort to tame the famously rowdy strip and create a more welcoming district that draws a broader age range and more spending, even if not everyone’s ready to sanitize “Dirty Sixth.” The new concrete barricades […]
Sixth Street
Posted inPublic Safety
City reports fewer crimes, stable crowds in Sixth Street pilot
Data from the city’s efforts to revitalize the Sixth Street Entertainment District show reductions in violent crime and public safety incidents, according to a new memo summarizing the results of a pilot program launched late last year. A recent memo from Development Services Department leadership to City Council reported a modest, but notable, decline in […]
Posted inCity Council
Council OKs next steps in planning improvements to Sixth Street district
With early data suggesting the area’s safety can continue to improve, City Council approved a detailed resolution Thursday directing city staff to pursue a wide-ranging set of improvements and operational changes aimed at encouraging daytime activity in the Sixth Street Entertainment District. The resolution, approved in its fourth version as part of the consent agenda, […]
Posted inPreservation
Preservationists praise developer for giving Sixth Street historic buildings ‘some love’
As Dallas-based Stream Realty moves forward with efforts to revitalize more than 30 properties it owns along East Sixth Street, the company is evincing a notable shift in strategy: preserving historic buildings instead of replacing most of them with new construction. “We just really feel good about the retail story in Austin,” said Paul Bodenman, […]
Posted inTransportation
Vision for transforming city core draws scrutiny ahead of likely Council vote
With Downtown Austin poised for overlapping mega-projects over roughly the next decade, City Council’s Mobility Committee took a closer look last week at the draft Austin Core Transportation Plan, which aims to tie all of the projects together. Committee members broadly supported the plan’s vision, but raised concerns about implementation details, including how to balance […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Early data suggest opening Sixth Street to traffic has improved public safety
Early data from the Austin Police Department suggests that a new public safety initiative aimed at reducing crime and violence on East Sixth Street is yielding positive results. The changes, which took effect in December, reintroduced vehicular traffic on weekend nights for the first time in decades, reversing a long-standing pedestrian-only policy in the entertainment […]
Posted inTransportation
Downtown Commissioners weigh in on Sixth Street plan
Hours after the announcement that Austin will be opening Sixth Street to vehicular traffic on weekend nights, the Downtown Commission had a chance to weigh in. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis and APD Lieutenant Christopher Juusola, who is the downtown operations director for the city, filled commissioners in on the current and planned state of […]
Posted inTransportation
Dirty no more? City opts to keep Sixth Street open to traffic at all times
Beginning this weekend, the city will keep Sixth Street open to vehicular traffic on weekends, a substantial departure from decades of street closures designed to accommodate nightlife culture that saw thousands of pedestrians gather in the roadway while moving among the entertainment district’s many bars and nightclubs. City leaders announced the change at a press […]
Posted inPolice
Police, state ready to intervene on after-hours bars operating downtown
The Austin Police Department may soon take steps to punish downtown bars and nightclubs identified recently as potentially violating state liquor laws by operating and selling drinks after hours. At the latest meeting of the Downtown Commission, talk turned to the findings of a June study from the Pecan Street Owners Association that showed a […]
Posted inPlanning
New restaurants to pave the way for Stream Realty’s Sixth Street revitalization
The real estate group looking to revitalize the Sixth Street entertainment district just west of Interstate 35 is betting that a wave of new restaurants will be the initial difference-maker in the move to gradually strip the area of its “Dirty Sixth” reputation. Paul Bodenman, senior vice president of investments at Stream Realty, told the […]
Posted inPlanning
Council approves taller buildings in part of Sixth Street entertainment district
City Council has approved an increase in building height for a portion of the East Sixth Street entertainment district that has been targeted for redevelopment by a Dallas-based real estate firm. The ordinance amendment approved Thursday after a public hearing will allow buildings on the 500 and 600 blocks of East Sixth Street – the […]
Posted inPreservation
Council to vote on allowing taller buildings along Sixth Street
City Council is set to vote next week on allowing taller buildings along part of Sixth Street, in hopes of bringing more daytime uses to Austin’s most famous stretch of bars and clubs. The plan is to allow buildings up to 140 feet high on properties along “Dirty Sixth”’ between Sabine and Neches streets, as […]