Ten years after the city first pledged to eliminate traffic deaths, it has installed more than 500 new crosswalks and over 100 miles of new bikeways, but has not managed to reduce traffic deaths to zero.
After 10 years of Vision Zero, Austin has seen a significant drop in fatal crashes thanks to the city’s efforts to improve road safety. However, 500 people were still killed or seriously injured on Austin roads in the last decade.
According to an article by Erica Brennes for KXAN, the city has committed over $134 million to road safety. “In the last 10 years, Vision Zero has added 500 pedestrian crossings, 320 miles of upgraded sidewalks, more than 100 miles of bicycle facilities, and 600 safe routes to school projects.”
Joel Meyer, the transportation safety officer with the City of Austin, says the city is focusing on the communities that see the most fatal crashes, which include the Black community, lower-income men, and unhoused Austinites (who make up 40 to 60 percent of fatal or serious injury crashes involving pedestrians or bikes).
One Vision Zero Project, the Bluff Springs Road Safety Project, saw a 30 percent reduction in crashes and a 58 percent reduction in “high-risk speeding.”
Read the full story: Fatal crashes in Austin down after decade of Vision Zero
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