Would it be Safer for Bars to be Open Later?
An apparent terrorist attack in Austin could have revealed that it might be safer for bars to stay open past 2AM.
Me attempting my Willie Nelson impression after a football game on 7th Street
Last Sunday morning at 1:58AM several 9-1-1 calls came in to Austin Police dispatch about a shooting in progress along West Sixth Street. Four people died and as many as 13 victims were injured in a mass shooting.
The shooting’s motivation is not exactly clear right now, but the timing is unlikely to be a coincidence. 2:00 AM is the latest bars can legally serve alcohol in Texas and many bars were closing down for the night, sending their patrons out onto the busy and crowded sidewalks.
It’s not the first mass shooting to occur in Austin’s entertainment district. In the last 12 years, there’s been 5 such incidents according to an analysis by the Austin-American Statesman. Based on my research, all of these occurred between the hours of 1AM to 2AM.
Downtown Austin by the numbers
Roadway crashes peak in the downtown area at the 2:00AM hour. It’s not clear how many of these can be attributed to alcohol.
Austin PD dispatches (either through 9-1-1 calls but also through “officer-initiated incidents”) also peaks at 2:00AM.
It’s hard to know exactly which of these crashes and police incidents can be truly caused by what I’ll call the “last call effect”.
The last call effect
The last call effect is the problems caused by almost every bar closing at the same time. In some ways it is very similar to a sporting event or a large concert getting out.
Summarizing some of these problems:
- Crowded sidewalks and roadways
- More people bumping into each other causing fights
- Longer lines at late night food establishments
- Expensive surged-priced Ubers which may incentivize people to drive, walk, or scooter home drunk
- People drinking more than they otherwise would to try to beat “last call”
My hypothesis is, having bars open later would allow more people to leave when they want to rather than kicking everyone out all at once. We would still see drunken fights and DUIs, but having them more spread out over time would likely reduce the overall impact, especially to first responders.
The case for 24/7
Las Vegas is pretty famous for partying whenever you want you. Most Strip and Downtown casinos never close. During COVID-19, it was revealed that most establishments don’t know how to close. Some don’t even have locks.
Las Vegas Metro PD does not see the same bump in the early morning hours that APD sees.
Comparing Las Vegas to Austin is likely not an apples-to-apples comparison, but it does make me wonder what chaos would ensue in downtown Las Vegas if all the casinos and bars closed at 2:00AM.
Las Vegas being a 24/7 city allows businesses to operate whenever they want, some places close but you don’t see the same mass-exodus you would see in Austin.
Staggered exit
A study by MSU Denver suggested a potential solution would be to allow bars to remain open as a place for people to hang out and finish their drinks. The bars would be closed to new patrons and not serving new drinks. The author of this study highlighted the impracticality of this solution as bars would not be making money during this extra time open so they would not be financially incentivized to do this.
A few bars in Austin follow this practice, such as Barbarella, which stays open until 3:00AM but does require a cover to come in and dance.
The above story out of Denver interviewed a few bar owners there who were interested in staying open later to allow for a “staggered exit”.
A bill died in committee in the Colorado legislature last year that would have extended alcohol sales until 2:30AM (they have the same 2:00AM limit as Texas) and allow for bar patrons to leave up until 3:00AM.
Conclusion
Austin has been trying to rework it’s entertainment district for the past few years. If “dirty sixth” is ultimately redeveloped into fancy eateries and cafes in a few years, we will be likely just relocating those problems somewhere else in the city. The most recent mass shooting didn’t even occur on the “dirty” part of Sixth Street.
Unfortunately, my proposed solution would likely require the Texas legislature to pass a law to have bar closing times altered, but I do hope that this could be something the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission could look at as a pilot program rolled out in a few places.
Staggering exit times or extending them would allow more time for people to leave bars when they want to leave. This would reduce the risk of clogging roads and sidewalks at night. People are going to drink and go out, we should provide them a safer way of doing that.