Report: Vision Zero Saving Lives in Austin

Austin’s Vision Zero initiative is saving lives, according to a city report, with fatalities and serious injuries down by 22 percent at major intersections that received safety improvements, reports Haley McLeod in Community Impact.

The city made improvements at 27 major intersections since 2016, adding protective arrows and flashing lights for left turns, increasing crosswalk visibility, adding bicycle detection and signage, adjusting clearance time for red and yellow lights, and adding flashing warning signals.

McLeod notes that there is still work to be done. “The average of fatal or serious crashes is down from previous years, but there were eight intersections that saw an increase.” At one intersection where drivers tend to run red lights, the city is making ‘geometric changes’ to the streetscape to slow down turning vehicles and adding concrete pedestrian islands.

From a financial perspective, the Vision Zero program essentially pay sofr itself: “With a nearly 20% decrease in total crashes seen at major intersections in Austin, there was an annual comprehensive cost of crash savings of over $28 million. Per the report, the construction of safety improvements for all 22 intersections cost $18.5 million.”