“It's aspirational, but it can help lead and guide us in our budgeting, our partnerships and our grant searches,” Commissioner Ann Howard said.
Explained
The Safe Streets for All initiative—which has been adopted by cities and transportation agencies across the nation—aims to eliminate traffic-related serious injuries and fatalities.
Also referred to as Vision Zero, the county is currently developing its safety action plan.
In order to establish recommendations, the project team is reviewing crash and other relevant data, conducting field studies to understand conditions on high-crash roadways, and gathering ideas from the public.
Developing this plan will open doors for future funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Howard said. The federal grant program is providing $5 billion over a five-year period toward local road safety efforts. The program is expected to continue until 2026.
The current study area includes all of Travis County with a focus on unincorporated areas, as well as partnering jurisdictions within the county, which include the cities of Pflugerville, Johnstown, Rollingwood, San Leanna, Volente, Lago Vista, Lakeway, West Lake Hills and Manor.
Each jurisdiction will be allowed to choose whether to implement the safety recommendations.
Once the safety action plan is completed and approved, it will be included in a larger regional effort for safety improvements by planning agency Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, or CAMPO.
The final draft of the Travis County safety action plan is expected to be submitted to commissioners by May for final approval.
By the numbers
The county’s Transportation and Natural Resources department has conducted two public engagement periods thus far, receiving nearly 1,300 responses from residents during the most recent engagement period, which ended in March.
Some of the top concerns revolved around speeding, distracted and aggressive driving, said Dan Malson, a contracted project manager for the county’s Safe Streets for All program.
He noted that the development of the safety action plan has revolved around curbing dangerous driver behavior rather than solely on road configurations and engineering.
There have been a total of 87,847 crashes from 2019 to 2023, according to the most recent data from the Travis County safety dashboard. During the same time frame, there have been 746 fatalities and another 3,355 serious injuries.
Of note
The city of Austin adopted its Vision Zero safety action plan nearly a decade ago in October 2015. The city’s transportation and public works department tracks and analyzes data as safety improvements get implemented.
The most recent report indicated fatal and serious injury crashes have decreased by 22% at major intersections in Austin where safety improvements have been made.
Austin’s safety plan will be included as part of the overall Travis County plan.
