Major Austin intersections see 31% drop in serious crashes after safety improvements
AUSTIN, Texas - Some of Austin's major intersections have seen a significant drop in crashes over the past year after safety improvements were made.
Data from a new Vision Zero Analytics report shows that of 13 intersections with at least one year of crash data after Austin Transportation completed work, total crashes dropped by 30% and crashes resulting in serious injuries or death have dropped by 31%.
(Austin Transportation)
Austin Transportation has been working on safety improvements at dozens of high-crash intersections as part of the Vision Zero program to eliminate serious injures and fatalities on Austin roads. In the last six years, work has been completed on 19 major intersections, says the city. The improvements are made possible through funds from the city budget and the 2016, 2018, and 2020 Mobility Bonds.
At the 13 intersections in the report, total crashes went from 326 per year before improvements began to 229 crashes per year after completion. The serious injury or fatal crashes declined from an average of 12 per year to 8.3 per year.
(Austin Transportation)
The following intersections were analyzed in the report:
- Lakeline Boulevard at US 183
- N Lamar Boulevard at Parmer Lane
- I-35 at Braker Lane
- N Lamar Boulevard from Rutland Drive to Rundberg Lane
- N Lamar Boulevard at Payton Gin Road
- US 183 at Cameron Road
- 45th Street at Red River Street
- I-35 at Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard
- S Pleasant Valley Road at Elmont Drive
- S Congress Ave at Oltorf Street
- Slaughter Lane at Menchaca Road
- Slaughter Lane at S. 1st Street
- Slaughter Lane at Cullen Lane
Austin Transportation also looked at a "control group" of similar intersections to better contextualize broader crash trends in Austin over the same period. At those locations, total crashes per year decreased by 4% and serious injury and fatal crashes increased by 8%, says the city.
Austin Transportation teams also finished upgrades to another major intersection at Cameron Road and Ferguson Lane in May, and four more projects are scheduled to start construction before the end of 2022.