Eclipse is Monday, but the CMT Awards and Cap10K are in Austin this weekend too

Brianna Hollis
·2 min read

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s going to be a busy few days in Austin.

When it comes to the eclipse alone, city officials say crowds would be equivalent to an F1 weekend.

Before they can think about Monday, members of the Austin Police Department’s (APD) Special Events Unit have to coordinate public safety measures for a local 5K in east Austin and an Austin FC match at Q2 Saturday, and the Statesman Cap10K downtown and CMT Music Awards at the Moody Center Sunday.

Will Austin’s bats freak out during the eclipse?

“We’re pumped. We did it last year—it was so fun,” Quyn Phan and Ronak Karsan said about the Cap10K, and they’re also looking forward to continuing their excitement into Monday for the eclipse. “We’ve got our glasses ready.”

As the city prepares for these events, experts in emergency services technology wrapped up a week-long conference discussing things like how public safety professionals can leverage the ever-growing amount of data they now have access to.

“Allows folks to make sense of data and allows folks to make sense of the data and goes into things like pre-planning processes for large events,” said Sam Brown, COO of ESO, an emergency management software company. “Things like access to space, exits, safety of buildings, public transportation, if there were an event, how folks can be evacuated.”

The Cap10K expects about 20,000 runners and walkers. Roads are only expected to be closed for about an hour but keep in mind the following interruptions from about 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

  • Cesar Chavez Street from I-35 to MoPac Expressway

  • Fifth Street from MoPac Expressway to I-35

  • Sixth Street from I-35 to MoPac Expressway

  • Guadalupe Street from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Cesar Chavez Street

  • Lavaca Street from Cesar Chavez Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard

  • San Jacinto Boulevard from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Cesar Chavez Street

The CMT Awards will also close down a handful of roads Sunday afternoon and evening.

  • Robert Dedman Drive: Closed from DeLoss Dodds Way to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from 1 p.m. April 7 through 11 p.m. April 7

  • Clyde Littlefield Drive: Closed to Robert Dedman Drive from 1 p.m. April 7 through 11 p.m. April 7

  • Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard: Closed from Red River Street to San Jacinto Boulevard from 1 p.m. April 7 through 7 p.m. April 7

On the day of the eclipse, APD is urging people not to stop in the middle of the street when it gets dark in the middle of the day and to remember to turn on their headlights.

The Special Events Unit also warned drivers to watch out for pedestrians viewing the eclipse and encouraged everyone to stay home if they can Monday and stock up on gas and groceries this weekend.

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