In just a few short weeks, over 250,000 people are expected to pour into Austin for the annual SXSW interactive, film and music festival and conference, which is now in its 26th year.

This massive influx of people not only means a lot of money for the city, but also a number of inconveniences for Austinites.

In the past 26 years, SXSW has grown from a small regional music festival to an enormous multi -modal and interactive festival and conference. The growing size of SXSW and its crowds has caused an abundance of complaints and concerns; large crowds can be difficult to manage, especially when you factor in that most of the crowd is under some sort of influence.

These extra people also make excessive amounts of garbage. Last year cleaning crews estimated that they picked up 90 cubic yards of trash and recycling from Auditorium Shores, according to YNN Austin.

Clean up crews clean the streets every morning to clear the trash from the previous day, and make room for the new crowd.

SXSW also means road closures that usually last for four days, during the music portion of the festival, but this year organizers are requesting that the city extends road closures from f to nine day.

Then there is the traffic.

Austin traffic is already unsatisfactory, so trying to drive in or out of downtown with the over 250,000 out-of-towners can be a bigger mistake than trying to get down Guadalupe when UT football has a home game.

SXSW can be an exciting adventure the first few years, but you quickly learn that without a badge your SXSW experience can be rather limited.

With SXSW badges starting at $650 and going all the way up to $1,595, the chances of you having a badge are low.

There are free shows, and you can always wait around the venue in hopes of getting in without a badge, but that often ends in heartbreak and disappointment. Some people can weather all those shattered hopes and long waits in line or suffering through basic bands at the free shows, but for the rest of us, it is tiring and vastly overrated.

SXSW is great for generating revenue for the city, but it also makes a mess of daily life in Austin. While SXSW rages on, Austinites still have to go along with their daily routines, which can be difficult when there are over 250,000 people packed into downtown and its surrounding areas having a nine day party.

Also, this makes it difficult to enjoy everything Austin has to offer during our spring break. So unless you want to fight the traffic and crowds, avoid going north of Town Lake as much a possible. It can be more trouble than it is worth.