Local News

Austinites Urged to Prepare for Perfect Traffic Storm on Friday

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Tony Maples Photography

 

What could make traffic in Austin even worse than usual? How about thousands of out-of-towners, including two very famous Americans: President and First Lady Obama.

There are very few times in life when a perfect storm of sorts emerges. The first was the disaster of the Titanic, the second might’ve been the fate of the Andrea Gail in the movie, Perfect Storm, and the third? Austin traffic on Friday, March 10.

As SXSW kicks into full swing on Friday, the President and First Lady Obama will also be flying into the city to deliver a keynote address at the Long Center at 2:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The motorcade, however, will go through downtown earlier than that and that’s not to mention the security checks and clearances in the area.

If you’ve never seen a presidential motorcade before, then God help you because it is one very uneventful and frustrating experience. Even Mayor Adler agrees, which is why he’s encouraging all Austinites to work from home on Friday and just stay completely clear of downtown.

If you must head into the center of the storm, he urges you to bike or take the Cap Metro rail or bus, which does have service extensions for the festival.

In the words of Mayor Adler to KEYETV, in probably his best quote yet, “Traffic on Friday is just going to be an absolute zoo.”