Travis County Safety Action Plan aims to reduce deadly crashes

AUSTIN (KXAN) — While music fans are getting ready for weekend two of the Austin City Limits Festival, Travis County transportation leaders have their eyes beyond the city limits.

Travis County leaders are hoping to get federal funding from the Infrastructure Bill to reduce serious and deadly car crashes.

“If we can change what would have been a death or serious injury crash into a minor injury or property damage only clip crash, we consider that a success within this paradigm,” said Dan Malson, with engineering firm Kimley-Horn, during a presentation at the Travis County Commissioners Meeting on October 1.

In Travis County, between 2019 and 2023 there were 87,847 crashes. Of those, 756 were deadly, and 3,355 people were seriously injured, according to the Travis County Safety Action Plan dashboard .

County leaders have initiated a new Safety Action Plan they hope will bring that number down.

“Going out, finding where the issues are and trying to prevent them before tragedy occurs, and that we all have a responsibility to address the safe, safe system approach and to make our roads safer,” said Malson.

One roadway in particular came up as an area of concern. Ranch to Market Road 1431 in west Travis County, through Jonestown and Lago Vista.

“We hear that all the time from the residents who live out there. There’s really you know, steep hills. You can’t see cars backed up when you’re coming up over a hill. People drive at very high speeds,” said Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea.

And recently we heard from KXAN viewer Nancy Orr through our ReportIt email . She reached out with her concerns about RM 1431.

“It’s a narrow, winding, hilly, Hill Country Road, which, like you said, it’s a beautiful road, but there’s no way to safely pass,” said Orr.

Through the Safety Action Plan, transportation officials will be looking at all kinds of options, better lighting, more space for passing, and turning, and improved intersections.
Nancy just hopes something will done to slow down dangerous drivers by her house.

“They’re driving easily 70 or more, like it’s a motor speedway, and you know, that’s not considering the other drivers. No regard for their own lives or the lives of others when you’re driving like that,” said Orr.

Travis County residents have an opportunity to let leaders know their concerns at several upcoming public meetings this fall and early next year before their final plan is submitted for additional federal funding.

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