AUSTIN, Texas — Starting in early October, visitors to Rainey Street and Downtown Austin may notice more EMS medics and vehicles during weekend nights and special events.
The Austin City Council greenlit the new program, Downtown Area Command (DTAC), when it approved the $5.9 billion Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget on Aug. 14.
“The closest analogous event is what we do during South by Southwest,” said Assistant Chief Kevin Parker with Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS).
Parker said DTAC allows ATCEMS to have units downtown ready to respond without pulling ambulances from outlying neighborhoods.
“We are not taking units out of service to do this,” he said.
Parker said DTAC will launch during Weekend 1 of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, which starts on Oct. 4, before slowly ramping up toward every weekend night.
The city council budgeted money for three new positions, overtime dollars and money to buy smaller vehicles. Up to 12 people will work during a DTAC shift.
Some will staff a dedicated trailer, which has already been purchased, that will serve as a command post and treatment center for incoming patients. Others will be out patrolling on motorcycles or climate-controlled mini-ambulances to look for dangerous behavior.
“For example, multiple people riding a scooter,” Parker said. “Also, we’re looking for people who may not have their faculties present, or maybe they have evidence that they have tripped and have fallen already. Maybe they are bleeding and walking down the street.”
DTAC follows a pilot program ATCEMS launched in June 2023 along Rainey Street following the community’s calls for more safety measures after multiple drownings in Lady Bird Lake.
“I believe it was about 50 folks who … their story could have ended tragically, but EMS was able to get there in a timely manner,” said Council Member Zo Qadri, who represents District 9, which includes Rainey Street and downtown.
Qadri said a drowning that happened just days after the pilot program ended also shows the importance of having medics present.
“I’m really excited about this [program],” Qadri said.
Katie Roper, the general manager at Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden on Rainey Street, said she supports having medics nearby.
“I think it’s fabulous, both in terms of safety for guests but also for the team as well,” Roper said.
Roper and employees at other businesses on Rainey Street told KVUE they’ve seen the need.
“It’s easy to lose sight of how much [alcohol] you may have had to consume, in conjunction with the heat,” Roper said, noting that many visitors come from cooler climates. “It’s something we cover pretty much in every single pre-shift.”
Roper also hopes more resources for Rainey Street are on tap soon.
“There has definitely been a spike in houselessness over the past few years,” Roper said, noting instances of people wielding machetes and trespassing.
For DTAC, ATCEMS received $992,900 in ongoing funding, $482,000 in one-time funding and $334,000 debt funding from Austin City Council.
Parker said ATCEMS is still pulling data to figure out the best times to stage extra resources.