When the President announced that he, along with 250,000 of his closest friends were visiting Austin on the first day of South By Southwest, people were predicting “Carmageddon.” In truth, on a regular day, traffic in Austin is pretty bad. We all know that I-35 is the most congested road in Texas. Add a presidential motorcade and a rolling blockade onto the already blocked-off streets for SXSW, and you’d have been excused for anticipating disaster. 

But the Mayor had a different plan. He asked everyone who could to work from home. It was that simple. It was just an idea, a suggestion for those with the flexibility and inclination to take it. And perhaps if Adam Hammonds at KEYE hadn’t been interested in the idea, it might not have worked. But Hammonds did an interview with the Mayor about this that was shared more than 53,000 times on the Internet. The word spread. AISD and the City of Austin decided to let out at noon. Downtown business encouraged their employees to work from home. We expected the worst, so everyone did their best to avoid driving during rush hour.

If you were anywhere near Austin that day, you probably remember how great it worked. Continue reading →