Getting Around

Finding your way around any city can be challenging. The information provided will help you navigate downtown Austin. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Many of the streets downtown are one-way.
• The north-south streets are named for the rivers of Texas geographically from west to east, beginning with Rio Grande and stretching east to Sabine. So catch up on your Texas geography as you explore downtown.
• The east-west streets are numerical. Cesar Chavez Street, just north of Town Lake, was formerly First Street, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, just south of the University of Texas campus, was formerly Nineteenth Street. These are the southern and northern edges of Downtown, respectively. (Originally, these streets were all named for native Texas trees, which is reflected in names of some businesses, such as the Cedar Street Courtyard and Hickory Street Bar and Grill. At each intersection on Congress Avenue, the original street names are in parentheses on the black-and-white historic district street signs.)
• Parking regulations are enforced seven days a week, but all parking meters are free after 5:30pm and all day Saturday and Sunday. Beginning in August 2011, parking meters between Eleventh Street and Lady Bird Lake, and between IH-35 and Lamar Boulevard will be enforced Monday through Saturday, from 8:00 am until midnight each day. Part of the money from the extended meter hours will be used for downtown transportation improvements. such as a comprehensive wayfinding system. Parking meter money will also be used to help pay for a Transportation Management Association, which will work with downtown employers to implement trip reduction strategies. The Downtown Austin Alliance, Travis County, and Capital Metro are partners in this effort.
• Watch for pedestrians and bicyclists, and, please, give them the right-of-way. Downtown is a vibrant community alive with walkers, bikers, and runners.