TANGER AND PREMIUM OUTLETS
San Marcos gets ready for Tax Free Weekend like few other places in the United States.
Home to one of the largest outlet malls in the country, combined of both the San Marcos Premium Outlets and the Tanger outlet, millions of visitors flock to San Marcos to experience the shopping Mecca – many of which come this weekend specifically.
“Tax Free Weekend is our second largest shopping holiday of the year, right behind Black Friday,” Jarrett Medders, marketing director for Tanger San Marcos, said. “So we certainly anticipate a very busy, hustling and bustling shopping center with lots of happy shoppers and hands filled with lots of shopping bags.”
Tax Free Weekend starts Friday, Aug. 9 and runs through midnight on Sunday, Aug. 11. Qualifying items can be purchased tax free from stores across Texas. The extra savings makes the weekend a shopping favorite. That means thousands of people descend upon San Marcos to capitalize on the savings.
“Annually, we see millions [people] regularly,” Medders said. “So for this concentrated, three-day weekend, we’d definitely anticipate to see thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of shoppers utilize the extra savings they get this weekend.”
The increase in visitors creates an economic boon for San Marcos.
“At the Chamber of Commerce, we're thrilled to promote the tax-free weekend,” Page Michel, President and CEO of the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce said. “It's a great chance for local businesses to see a boost in sales and for residents to get out and support their favorite businesses. While the city and county may not see direct tax benefits, this uptick in activity still helps to invigorate our economy. Let's all take advantage of this weekend to shop local and support the merchants who are here all year long to serve us.”
But those same visitors also create some logistical challenges, the most impactful of which is likely traffic. As thousands of shoppers attempt to enter the outlet malls, lines of cars begin piling up on the access roads. In fact, lines can get so long that they can back up traffic into the exit of Interstate 35. To prevent that from happening, a unique traffic plan is put into place for the weekend.
“It is just a high volume shopping period, the same as Black Friday,” Adam Rossing, Assistant Director of Public Works for the city of San Marcos, said. “We just want everybody to be safe and efficient.”
On August 10, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. drivers on northbound and southbound I-35 will use exit 200 for Centerpoint Rd to access the Outlet Mall, according to the city of San Marcos. Exit 201 for McCarty Lane on northbound IH-35 will be closed.
“We like to close down the [northbound] off ramp that exits right there at the entrance to the outlet mall,” Rossing said. “We love to do that, for the safety and convenience of the shoppers and the travelers on the access road. You don't want to have those cars exiting the off ramp at a high speed and then trying to take a right into the outlet mall. It's just an unsafe area during this higher volume traffic period, or shopping period. The whole thing is to have a smoother flow of traffic along the first road, minimize congestion, and then just help the overall shopping experience for all the travelers.”
In addition to the traffic changes, emergency services must plan ahead. With lines of traffic trying to get into the outlet malls, it would be difficult for first responders to get there quickly in case of an emergency.
“We’ve partnered with the San Marcos Fire Department and EMS offering them a substation here at the outlet malls for them to utilize and be out here on site during the weekend,” Medders said.
Rossing said that there will also be an extra police presence at the outlet malls for the same reasons.
