[Press Conference: “Spring Break Traffic & Mobility”]
[00:00:21]
GOOD MORNING AND THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE FOR THIS REALLY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT.
HOUSTON HAS MANY GREAT CULTURAL AND SPORTING EVENTS THAT DRAW PEOPLE ON A GRAND SCALE ANNUALLY.
THERE IS NO LARGER CONVERGENCE THAN WHAT TAKES PLACE DURING RODEO AND WHEN OUR CHILDREN ARE OUTTA SCHOOL.
FOR SPRING BREAK, 13 YEARS AGO, THE CITY SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED A NEW SPRING BREAK, HOUSTON PARKING AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN.
I WANNA THANK ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS FOR MARKETING THIS PLAN, BUT THE REAL SUCCESS IS ATTRIBUTED TO HOUSTONIANS.
I'M ASKING ALL HOUSTONIANS AND VISITORS ALIKE TO HELP COORDINATE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT FOR MULTIPLE OVERLAPPING ACTIVITIES.
THIS YEAR'S SPRING BREAK, HOUSTON BEGINS SATURDAY, MARCH 9TH THROUGH SUNDAY, MARCH 17TH.
DURING SPRING BREAK, HOUSTON AN AVERAGE OF 350,000 DAILY TRAVEL TO THE MUSEUM DISTRICT AND ENERGY PARK TO ATTEND DOZENS OF ATTRACTIONS, INCLUDING THE HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO, HERMAN PARK, THE HOUSTON ZOO, MILLER OUTDOOR THEATER, AND OUR FABULOUS MUSEUMS. AGAIN, THAT'S 350,000 CARS EVERY SINGLE DAY.
I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE A STAYCATION FOR HOUSTONIANS BECAUSE OF THE GREAT EVENTS AND ATTRACTIONS HOUSTON HAS TO OFFER.
BE A TOURIST IN YOUR HOMETOWN.
IN ADDITION TO THESE GREAT FAMILY ACTIVITIES, WE HAVE THE DAILY TRAFFIC TO OVER 50 INSTITUTIONS THAT MAKE UP THE WORLD RENOWNED MEDICAL CENTER.
ALL THESE AMENITIES JUST HAPPEN TO BE WITHIN FIVE MILES OF EACH OTHER.
NATURALLY MOBILITY IS AN ISSUE.
I ENCOURAGE HOUSTONIANS TO PLAN AHEAD AND FIND THE BEST ROUTE TO YOUR SPRING BREAK DESTINATION.
BEFORE WE GET TO THESE ROUTES AND PARKING OPTIONS, PLEASE WELCOME MS. DANIELLE GROSSMAN, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO TO TELL US MORE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON AT ENERGY PARK.
SO YES, WE ARE VERY EXCITED FOR THE 2024 HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO.
SO FAR IT HAS BEEN A HUGE SUCCESS AND WE ARE WELCOMING EVERYONE WITH OPEN ARMS. IT'S VERY BUSY OVER THERE AT ENERGY PARK.
IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ALREADY, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GET YOUR TICKETS TO COME ON OUT.
WE'VE HAD A GREAT START SO FAR AND WE CONTINUE OUR CELEBRATION OF AGRICULTURE, EDUCATION, ENTERTAINMENT AND WESTERN HERITAGE OF COURSE, RIGHT THERE.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON, OF COURSE, UH, AND THE COMMUNITY FOR SPRING BREAK PLANS, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THEM THROUGHOUT THE NEXT WEEK TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE GETS TO WHERE THEY NEED TO GO SAFELY.
OF COURSE, NOW, WHEN PLANNING A RODEO TRIP, WE REALLY ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO DOWNLOAD THE RODEO HOUSTON APP.
WE DID A COMPLETE UPGRADE TO THE APP.
IT'S VERY INTUITIVE, VERY USER FRIENDLY, AND THERE'S EVERYTHING YOU NEED ON THERE TO PLAN AHEAD.
WHEN YOU'RE COMING TO THE RODEO, WE KNOW THIS PARKING CAN BE A CHALLENGE BECAUSE THERE ARE GONNA BE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE OUT IN THE GROUNDS.
SOMETIMES DURING SPRING BREAK WE CAN SEE AN UPWARDS OF 180,000 PEOPLE AT NRG PARK.
WE ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO PLAN AHEAD.
WE NOW ARE OFFERING PRE-PURCHASE PARKING.
SO IF YOU GO TO RODEO HOUSTON.COM, WE GO ON OUR APP.
YOU CAN PRE-PURCHASE YOUR $25 PARKING THERE TO MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU.
WE ALSO HAVE REALTIME UPDATES FOR PARKING LOTS.
SO BEFORE YOU GET TO ENERGY PARK, YOU CAN CHECK THE PARKING LOTS TO SEE WHICH ONES ARE FULL, WHICH ONES AREN'T, AND WHERE YOU SHOULD PARK TO MAKE IT EASY WHEN YOU GET THERE.
ALSO, WE REALLY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO TAKE THE METRO RAIL.
THAT'S A REALLY GREAT, EASY WAY TO GET TO THE RODEO.
IT LETS YOU OFF RIGHT THERE AT NRG PARK AND IF YOU CAN PLEASE TAKE THAT OPTION.
UM, ASIDE FROM OUR ONSITE PARKING, WE HAVE PARK AND RIDE OPTIONS ACROSS THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA.
YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR CAR, PICK IT UP WHEN YOU'RE DONE, MAKES IT REALLY EASY AND SEAMLESS AND OF COURSE RIDESHARE.
AND JUST, I JUST WANNA REITERATE FOR RIDESHARE, IF PEOPLE ARE TAKING RIDESHARE OPTIONS, JUST REMEMBER YOU ARE BEING PICKED UP AND DROPPED OFF IN THE YELLOW LOT AND THE YELLOW LOT ONLY.
SO WHEN YOU PUT THAT IN YOUR RIDESHARE OPTION, IT WILL TAKE YOU THERE AUTOMATICALLY.
UM, THAT IS ALSO A GREAT OPTION FOR YOU.
SO AGAIN, PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE HOUSTON, THE RODEO HOUSTON APP.
YOU CAN SEE UP TO DATE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR LINEUP, EVERYTHING WE HAVE, OUR SCHEDULES, OUR RODEO ITSELF, AND ANY INFORMATION YOU NEED TO PLAN OUT YOUR TRIP TO MAKE IT SUCCESSFUL AND SEAMLESS.
UM, AND WE HOPE YOU COME OUT TO THE RODEO.
THERE'S STILL TONS OF TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR ALL OF OUR SHOWS AND WE HAVE QUITE A FEW DAYS LEFT AHEAD OF US, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.
ALRIGHT, NEXT I WANT TO INTRODUCE LATA THOMAS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING AND RETAIL OPERATIONS AT THE HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE.
UM, AS ALWAYS, AS WE LOVE TO SAY, YOU DON'T NEED TO TRAVEL LONG DISTANCES TO SEE SOMETHING OR DO SOMETHING REALLY COOL IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
JUST MAKE YOUR WAY DOWN TO THE MUSEUM DISTRICT WHERE WE HAVE 18 MUSEUMS AND THE ZOO, UM, EACH WITH EXHIBITS AND EXPERIENCES TO MAKE SOME LASTING MEMORIES HERE THIS SPRING BREAK TO JUST GIVE YOU
[00:05:01]
A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF WHAT'S BEING PLANNED FOR SPRING BREAK.WE'LL START WITH THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM.
THEY ARE HOSTING SPRING BREAK BLAST WITH DAILY THEMED ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING ONE ON ST.
PATRICK'S DAY, ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN.
THEY WILL HAVE LOTS OF IRISH DANCERS AS WELL AS A BUTTER MAKING BEVERAGE WORKSHOP.
SO CALLING ALL HARRY POTTER FANS.
UM, THE CONTEMPORARY ARTS MUSEUM WILL HAVE A SPRING BREAK COMMUNITY CELEBRATION THAT'S FREE ON MARCH 16TH.
UM, GRAB A FRIEND AND COME FOR SOME LOTS AND COME AND MAKE LOTS OF ART MAKING ACTIVITIES.
THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM WILL ALSO HAVE FREE ADMISSION ON MARCH 14TH.
THEY WILL HAVE LOTS OF SPECIAL PROGRAMS THAT DAY, INCLUDING A FAMILY FRIENDLY MAGIC SHOW FEATURING THE GREAT HEINI HEINI IS HIGH PEN, A SECOND GENERATION HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR.
AND OVER AT THE HOUSTON ZOO, YOU CAN ACTUALLY VISIT THE GALAGOS ISLANDS.
IT IS THEIR NEWEST EXHIBIT AND FEATURES THE REMARKABLE WILDLIFE OF THE ISLAND CHAIN, INCLUDING HUMBOLDT PIGEONS, UH, PENGUINS.
SO WE WILL HAVE PENGUINS IN HOUSTON.
UM, AND OF COURSE HERE AT THE HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE, WE ARE OPENING OUR BRAND NEW CHEMISTRY HALL ON MARCH 8TH.
UM, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE CHEMISTRY IN SCHOOL OR DIDN'T DO REALLY WELL IN IT, UM, YOU CAN REALLY SEE SOME COOL THINGS INCLUDING BEING ABLE TO LIFT A GRAND PIANO OR MAKE SOME MOVES ON THE PERIODIC TABLE OF ELEMENT STANCE FLOOR.
WE ARE ALSO SHOWING A NEW FILM IN THE WORDHAM GIANT SCREEN THEATER, UM, WHICH FEATURES LIFELIKE DINOSAUR HOLOGRAMS. IT IS CALLED DYNO DISCOVERIES, BUT THAT'S JUST A SNAPSHOT.
THERE'S SO MANY OTHER MUSEUMS, LOTS OF COOL THINGS GOING ON.
SO WE PLEASE, PLEASE ASK EVERY HOUSTONIAN, ENJOY A STAYCATION AND COME VISIT THE MUSEUM DISTRICT.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MONICA FROM METRO.
I APPRECIATE THE INTRODUCTION.
OKAY, WELL GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.
UH, ONCE AGAIN, METRO IS PROUD TO PARTNER WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON BY PROVIDING AFFORDABLE AND CONVENIENT TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS TO FOLKS DURING SPRING BREAK THIS YEAR.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR AN EASY WAY TO GET TO ATTRACTIONS LIKE THE HOUSTON ZOO, THE MUSEUM DISTRICT, THE HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO, THEN LOOK NO FURTHER THAN METRO.
METRO RAIL OFFERS QUICK, EASY ACCESS TO ALL OF THESE DESTINATIONS FOR ONLY A DOLLAR 25.
FIRST, BRING BIG, UH, BREAKERS WHO ARE LOOKING TO TAKE THE SHUTTLE BUS TO THE RODEO.
UH, METRO PROVIDES SERVICE AT THE MAXI PARK AND RIDE ON THE EAST SIDE OF TOWN FOR ONLY $4 ROUND TRIP.
ALL OTHER SHUTTLE BUS LOCATIONS WILL BE OPERATED BY THE RODEO.
NOW WE WANNA ENSURE THAT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH METRO IS AS SMOOTH AS POSSIBLE.
SO WE'RE REALLY ENCOURAGING OUR CUSTOMERS TO SKIP THE LINES, UM, BY USING CONTACTLESS FORMS OF PAYMENT.
OUR Q MOBILE TICKETING APP ALLOWS YOU TO BUY FARES WITH CREDIT CARD, DEBIT CARD, UH, EVEN PAYPAL ON YOUR SMARTPHONE.
YOU CAN ALWAYS PLAN YOUR TRIPS IN ADVANCE WITH OUR NEW ONE TO RIDE, UH, APP.
SIMPLY CHOOSE THE PLAN YOUR TRIP OPTION, ENTER YOUR STARTING LOCATION AND DESTINATION.
AND OUR TRIP PLANNER WILL PROVIDE A SIMPLE STEP-BY-STEP, UH, ITINERARY.
AND FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT METRO SERVICES DURING SPRING BREAK, VISIT THE RIDE METRO, UH, WEBSITE@RIDEMETRO.ORG.
AND WHILE YOU'RE THERE, BE SURE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR TEXT ALERTS SO THAT YOU CAN GET, UH, REALTIME INFORMATION ON YOUR PARTICULAR ROUTE AND THAT'S DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE.
UH, WHATEVER YOUR DESTINATION, WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING FOLKS, UH, ABOARD FOR SPRING BREAK 2024.
UM, I NOW HAVE THE HONOR OF PASSING THE MIC BACK TO MAYOR PROTIME.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE GREAT INFORMATION.
AS MENTIONED, WE WANT EVERYONE TO ENJOY SPRING BREAK, BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP TO CREATE A MORE PLEASURABLE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE TO THESE GREAT SPRING BREAK HOUSTON DESTINATIONS AND TO YOUR MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS, WE WANT YOU TO REMEMBER A FEW THINGS.
FIRST, PARKING OPTIONS FOR THE MUSEUM DISTRICT.
MANY INSTITUTIONS INCLUDING THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM, THE HEALTH MUSEUM, THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON AND MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE HAVE THEIR OWN PARKING LOTS AND WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO PLEASE USE THEM.
MANY OF THESE LOTS FILL UP QUICKLY.
SO WE HAVE IDENTIFIED ADDITIONAL PAID PAR PUBLIC PARKING IN MIDTOWN AND DOWNTOWN AREAS, WHICH RANGE FROM $5 TO $20 DAILY.
FROM THERE, YOU CAN HOP ON METRO RAIL TO YOUR DESTINATION.
FOR THOSE GOING TO HERMAN PARK AND THE HOUSTON ZOO, VEHICLE TRAFFIC WILL BE STRICTLY MANAGED AND WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO PARK IN THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER'S AU LOT AT 2 0 5 0 PRESLER STREET AND GARAGE EIGHT AT 2 1 5 1 WEST HOLCOMB.
FROM THERE, YOU CAN WALK OVER RIDE THE METRO RAIL DEPENDING ON THE DESIGNATED LOT YOU PARK IN.
FOR THOSE GOING TO THE RODEO, PLEASE VI VISIT RODEO HOUSTON.COM.
WE HAVE SPECIFIC DRIVING DIRECTIONS TO EACH ATTRACTION SPRING BREAK HAS TO OFFER.
[00:10:01]
SO IF YOU'RE TRAVELING ON 2 88 59 OR SIX 10, WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU PLAN AHEAD AND USE THE ROUTES LISTED ON OUR WEBSITE@HOUSTONSPECIALEVENTS.ORG.AGAIN, THAT'S HOUSTON SPECIAL EVENTS.ORG.
THESE SAME DIRECTIONS MAY ALSO BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITE OF YOUR DESTINATION LIKE LAST YEAR.
WE'LL ALSO UTILIZE ELECTRONIC SIGNS THROUGHOUT THE AREA, WHICH IDENTIFY THE BEST PARKING OPTIONS AND ROUTING.
WE WILL HAVE OFFICERS IN HIGH TRAFFIC INTERSECTIONS AND ON SITE ALLOWING FOR ADJUSTMENTS IN REAL TIME AS NEEDED.
IN CLOSING, I WANNA THANK ALL OF OUR PARTNERS, INCLUDING THE HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO, THE HOUSTON MUSEUM DISTRICT, AND THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER METRO.
I ALSO WANNA THANK THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF SPECIAL EVENTS.
THANK YOU AND WE HOPE YOU ENJOY ALL THE CITY HAS TO OFFER DURING SPRING BREAK.