Austin Energy on track to complete West Campus lighting improvements by fall 2023

AUSTIN, Texas - Serving as a main corridor for UT Austin students, West Campus has seen its share of crime.

After a 2019 lighting study conducted by the Austin Transportation Department, the Austin Police Department and Austin Energy illuminated problem spots, and efforts have been underway to make changes. 

Austin Energy is now on track to complete the improvements by fall 2023.

"I've talked with the project directors recently, and they have every indication and every confidence that those continued upgrades in those last subprojects will be completed in a very timely fashion, hopefully by the start of the summer," said Matt Mitchell, spokesperson for Austin Energy.

By September 2022, Austin Energy crews had replaced 600 streetlamps with LED bulbs, repaired non-functioning lights, installed 15 additional streetlights and trimmed tree canopies. 

Going forward, some of that work will continue.

"That's one of the real benefits of doing a lighting study and then implementing those recommendations," said Mitchell. "As you do, you notice more places that could use light, where you could add supplemental light, you could add another light here or there, you could raise a little bit more of the tree canopy over here...that's what those subprojects, as we call them, are addressing right now."

SafeHorns, a nonprofit that advocates for campus safety, played a major role in the upgrades. 

SafeHorns President Joell McNew shared a statement with FOX 7 on Monday:

"SafeHorns is grateful to Elton Richards and the Operations team with Austin Energy for working with us on this important project. All decorative pedestrian lighting and Cobra street lights have been updated from sodium lights to LED making a significant improvement. Austin Energy arborists also worked with SafeHorns to implement CPTED principles (crime prevention through environmental design) by raising the tree canopy for citizens to see and be seen in a more uniform manner. The project will add an additional 200 more lights that have taken longer due to construction but we look forward to the work being completed by the end of this year. Lighting is just one element of crime prevention needed in the area, this has been years in the making. It is imperative that the City of Austin and University of Texas leadership collaborate and work with stakeholders to take action on other initiatives to improve safety, quality of life for students and all citizens who live, work and play in the campus community at UT Austin."