President Barack Obama will be in Austin today to give the keynote address at the Civil Rights Summit at the LBJ Library. The event is marking the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
How to Hear Obama's Address:
While it is not possible to get into the auditorium to see the President’s address unless you already have a ticket – there is an opportunity to see some of the other summit panels.
A standby line will begin forming at 1:30 p.m. on the east side of Sid Richardson Hall – next to the LBJ Library. Open seats for the panels starting at 2, 3 and 4 o’clock will be filled with people from the standby line.
KUT 90.5 will air Obama’s address at the Civil Rights Summit live starting around 11:30 a.m. This is made possible with a partnership with the Longhorn Network. UT will also stream the address online at KUT.org.And the University of Texas at Austin is inviting people to watch President Obama's address on a big screen at the UT Tower:
Join us today at the #UTTower to watch the Obama & Bush #CivilRightsSummit keynotes live on the big screen! http://t.co/GbOQqGcsDE
— UT Austin (@UTAustin) April 10, 2014
Transportation
President Obama’s visit will cause some traffic trouble. He will be making his way from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to the UT-Austin campus later this morning. While his route will not be released, the presidential motorcade will likely cause delays and perhaps temporary closures.
UT is closing Robert Dedman Drive between 23rd Street and Dean Keeton to cars, bikes and people until 1 p.m.
Trinity Street between 23rd and Robert Dedman will also close on an intermittent basis.
Eight mainline Capital Metro routes and the UT Shuttle will be detoured around the LBJ Library.
Cap Metro also says delays are also expected throughout the city as the presidential motorcade makes its way around town.
City Council Meeting
The regular Austin City Council meeting scheduled for today will start late – to give council members an opportunity to attend the events at the LBJ Library.
The meeting is scheduled to start no earlier than 1 o’clock this afternoon. The citizen communications part of the meeting will be delayed until next week.
