City of Austin to begin lighting upgrades on 14 crash-prone areas in 2025

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin City Council recently approved a $1.7 million contract to improve street lighting at 14 different locations that are prone to crashes. 

Some of the locations will have new light poles. Others will have upgraded bulbs. 

Pearce Lane in Southeast Austin will begin in January 2025 and will take about four months. The other 13 intersections will take another four months in total.

Below is a list of intersections that will have some upgrades:

• 45th Street at Red River Street
• Braker Lane at Stonelake Boulevard
• Cullen Lane
• East Riverside Drive at Tinnin Ford Road
• East Riverside Drive at Wickersham Lane
• East Riverside Drive at Willow Creek Drive
• Pearce Lane
• South First Street at Barton Springs Road
• North Lamar Boulevard at St. Johns Avenue
• Oltorf Street at Parker Lane
• Oltorf Street at South Congress Avenue
• Slaughter Lane at Brodie Lane
• Slaughter Lane at South First Street
• South Pleasant Valley Road at East Riverside Drive

"It's really dark, and we definitely need lighting out here because people don't know how to drive, and people cross the street and nobody can see them," Freddy Fernandez, who lives near Pearce Lane, said. "There are always wrecks, especially in this area, especially on the toll roads."

"The reason why we're doing these projects is to essentially help with dark conditions," Alex Payson, capital improvement program manager at Austin Transportation and Public Works, said. "It's for safety, the safety of pedestrians and safety of vehicular traffic."

The Vision Zero tracker shows major crashes throughout the city over the past four years. 

"The Vision Zero program does have a data-driven approach to looking at crashes, doing a review of crashes. Part of that framework includes looking at unlit conditions to understand what areas may benefit from improvement," Payson said.

The city recently upgraded lights on Slaughter Lane from South First to Brandt Road. The video below shows the before and after.

They also plan to do Cameron Road and Dessau Road (from 51st Street to Howard Lane), Bluff Springs Road (from William Cannon Drive to the Austin City Limits) and McNeil Drive (from US 183 to Parmer Lane) in the future. 

Residents near Oltorf and Congress, like Jose Briones, are glad for improvement, especially with a new store in the neighborhood. 

"It's kind of dark and kind of dangerous for all the pedestrians who cross the walkway," he said. "With the new H-E-B there, it's getting more crazy now. You know, there's more traffic now."

Each of the spots can expect some lane closures during the project. 

"It's reasonable to expect slight delays as with any construction project, but I wouldn't anticipate extraordinary delays," Payson said.

Some say more lighting can't come soon enough.

"The quicker, the better," Fernandez said. 

If you have concerns about lighting in your area, you can let the city know through 311.