AUSTIN, Texas — During a downtown safety forum on Thursday, the downtown commander for the Austin Police Department shared that the “public safety zone” on W. 6th Street will remain in place every weekend moving forward.

The zone, which serves as a hub for police officers and emergency medical services, is located next to Buford’s, where a mass shooting claimed the lives of three people and injured 15 others earlier this month.

The public safety zone is the second of its kind downtown. Another zone is established on E. 6th Street and Neches Street.

According to Cmdr. Carey Chaudoir, both zones will be activated every Friday through Sunday in order to maintain safety in the high-traffic entertainment areas of the city.

“That’s every weekend moving forward, we’re going to be spinning up that public safety zone activation,” she said.

During Thursday’s public safety forum hosted by the Downtown Austin Alliance, Chaudoir also shared an update on the city’s public safety response to SXSW. She said there were no major public safety incidents that caused a disruption during this year’s event, but APD remains vigilant.

“Even though South By ended yesterday, we fully anticipate that people will stay through the weekend and have created an event action plan,” she said.

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Among the precautions during this year’s event, the department put anti-vehicle attack barriers near areas with high pedestrian traffic.

Chaudoir added that staffing remains a concern for downtown patrol.

“I know that’s kind of a point of contention with our department—we still struggle with our staffing,” she said.

On Thursday, the Central Texas Public Safety Commission told CBS Austin the shortage at APD could be upwards of 300 officers across the city.

“I think not just the city in terms of government, but we in terms of the community, we have a responsibility to make sure that our officers know that we appreciate them, we respect them, and we understand that we need them in our community,” said Jennifer Stevens, incoming board president for CTPSC.

Stevens commended APD for its operations despite the shortage.