Auto crashes resulting in deaths and serious injuries dropped 17 percent in six of Austin’s 13 High-Injury Roadways, according to a report by the Austin Transportation Department’s Vision Zero team, when compared to the 2017-19 average.
Crashes resulting in deaths and serious injuries on other city streets dropped 1 percent through August 2021 compared to the 2017-19 average.
High-Injury Roadways are sections of road where more than 350 people were seriously injured or killed over a recent five-year period.
“This evaluation shows that Austin’s Vision Zero initiatives are having a positive impact,” Robert Spillar, Austin Transportation director, said. “Clearly, we have lots more to do to reach our Vision Zero goals. We will focus on scaling up this work to reach more areas of the city as part of our commitment to make Austin’s streets safer. We will also continue working with our partners like the Austin Police Department to implement our full toolbox of options to reduce fatalities and severe injury on our roadways.”
Safety improvements completed on the six roadways include substantial street design changes and protected left turns for drivers.
This year, there have been more than 100 fatalities citywide, a 30 percent increase from 2020.