May 02, 2023 Urban Transportation

[00:00:05]

OH

[CALL TO ORDER]

SO I'M CALLING YOU OF THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO ORDER.

UM, UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE HAVE NO PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS, CORRECT.

SO THE NEXT ITEM ON LIST

[1. Approve the minutes of the Urban Transportation Commission REGULAR MEETING on April 4th, 2023.]

CHARACTER ROOM APPROVING THE MINUTES.

SO YOU HAVE TO MOVE IT FIRST BEFORE YOU COMMENT.

SWEAR SEEMS I CAN GET THERE.

WE HAVE MOTION.

MOTION APPROVE THE LAST, OKAY.

OKAY.

IS THERE A SECOND? GREAT.

.

THAT'S ALL.

SECONDED, SPENCER.

OKAY.

UM, THE

[2. Discussion and possible action on the Transit Signal Priority System and Emergency Vehicle Preemption System Presenter: Brian Craig, Transportation and Public Works Department]

UH, THIS ONE WILL BE VERY INTERESTING.

BRIAN CRAIG IS PRESENTING GOOD EVENING.

UM, ONCE AGAIN, MY NAME IS BRIAN CRAIG.

I'M THE MANAGING ENGINEER FOR THE ARTERIAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION WITHIN THE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.

UM, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS EVENING.

UM, HERE JUST TO BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT TRANSIT SIGNAL PRIORITY, EMERGENCY VEHICLE PREEMPTION, AND A, UM, PROJECT THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, UM, UNDERWAY.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO, JUST KIND OF A BRIEF DEFINITION OR DESCRIPTION OF T S P AND E V P AS WE GENERALLY REFER TO THEM.

BUT THEY ARE TWO, UM, TOOLS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR TOOLBOX TO HELP TRANSIT VEHICLES AND EMERGENCY VEHICLES, YOU KNOW, TRAVERSE OUR, OUR NETWORK, UM, YOU KNOW, AND HELP THEM REDUCE DELAY AND IMPROVE RELIABILITY THROUGH OUR SYSTEM.

AND REALLY IT'S MODIFYING THE, YOU KNOW, THE EXISTING TRAFFIC SIGNAL TIMING BY EITHER, UM, YOU KNOW, EXTENDING A GREEN OR EARLY GREEN FOR TRANSIT SIGNAL PRIORITY OR REALLY INTERRUPTING THE NORMAL OPERATION FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES TO, UM, GET, TO GET THEM A GREEN LIGHT, UM, AS THEY APPROACH THE INTERSECTION.

UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO REALLY A BRIEF HISTORY OF, UM, OF T S P AND E V P IN AUSTIN.

UM, WE DEPLOYED E V P BACK IN THE EARLY NINETIES.

UM, REALLY BACK THEN EVERYBODY WAS USING THE SAME SYSTEM OF, YOU KNOW, INFRARED TRANSMITTER ON A EMERGENCY VEHICLE AND A RECEIVER AT A TRAFFIC SIGNAL, TYPICALLY MOUNTED ON A MASS ARM.

UM, AND WITH A LOT OF PROJECTS, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS FUNDING TO, TO GET THAT INSTALLED, BUT VERY LITTLE TO MAINTAIN IT.

SO OVER TIME AS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER OF LOCATIONS WERE, UM, INCREASED, YOU KNOW, MAINTENANCE BECAME MORE OF A CHALLENGE.

UM, AND SO IN 2011 WHEN WE WERE PREPARING TO UPGRADE OUR SIGNAL SOFTWARE, WE HAD ALSO MET WITH A F D E M S TO KIND OF DISCUSS THE STATE OF THE SYSTEM AND, AND FUTURE PLANS.

UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE KIND OF DID WAS PULL BACK T UH, EVP AT THAT POINT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE EQUIPMENT THAT WE HAD IN THE FIELD WAS, WAS WORKING.

UM, AND AS FAR AS TSP GOES, WE, WE PROCURED A NEW CENTRAL SOFTWARE FOR OUR TRAFFIC SIGNALS, AND THAT INCLUDED A TRANSIT SIGNAL PRIORITY, UM, MODULE, WHICH WAS, UM, REALLY A, A VIRTUAL LINK WITH CAP METRO'S, UM, CAD SYSTEM DISPATCH SYSTEM.

SO WE WERE, UM, WE SET IT UP SO THAT WE'RE GETTING THE LOCATION DATA FOR 8 0 1 AND 8 0 3 ROUTES, UM, THROUGH A HARDWIRED LINK, UM, AT, AT CTECH.

AND, YOU KNOW, THAT TOOK A FEW YEARS TO, TO IMPLEMENT.

UM, BUT THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE T S P ROUTES HAVE BEEN ACTIVE SINCE 20 13, 20 14.

UM, AND THROUGH THAT, UM, EXPERIENCE, WE SAW HOW GETTING G P S DATA OFF OF TRANSIT VEHICLES, UM, YOU KNOW, WORKED PRETTY WELL.

AND WE WERE THINKING THAT THAT COULD BE EXPANDED

[00:05:01]

SO IN 2017 TIMEFRAME, WE HAD APPLIED FOR A CAMPO GRANT, UM, AS A JOINT EVP T S P PROJECT IN ORDER TO TRY TO ROLL THIS OUT CITYWIDE.

UM, WE WERE SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING THAT GRANT.

UM, BUT THEN IN 2020, UM, CAMPO HAD PULLED BACK FUNDING FOR A NUMBER OF PROJECTS AND THIS WAS ONE OF THEM.

UM, SO THAT KIND OF LEFT US SCRATCHING OUR HEADS, SO TO SPEAK, OF, OF WHAT TO DO.

UM, YOU KNOW, AT THAT TIME WE, WE SAW THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, BOTH OF THESE WERE VERY BENEFICIAL PROJECTS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TO TO EVERYBODY IN THE SYSTEM AS FAR AS BEING ABLE TO HELP E M S, UM, A F D GET TO SITES FASTER, RESPOND TO, YOU KNOW, INCIDENTS AND THEN ALSO WITH THE TRANSIT VEHICLES.

SO WE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE TOOK THE MATCHING FUNDS THAT WE HAD SET ASIDE FOR THE, FOR THE CAMPO GRANT, UM, ALONG WITH SOME OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A NUMBER OF PROJECTS THAT WERE DEFUNDED, SO WE HAD A POOL OF MONEY AND, YOU KNOW, WE DECIDED TO PROCEED WITH THIS PROJECT.

UM, SO 2021, WE BASICALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, ENTERED INTO AGREEMENT WITH, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE VENDOR THAT PROVIDED OUR CENTRAL SOFTWARE.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE SCOPED OUT A PROJECT TO, UM, TO IMPLEMENT A CITYWIDE E EVP PROD E V P SYSTEM, UM, USING OUR EXISTING COMMUNICATION NETWORK, UM, SO THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE TO DEPLOY ANY ADDITIONAL HARDWARE IN THE FIELD, WHICH WAS REALLY THE, THE MAINTENANCE, UM, YOU KNOW, ISSUES THAT WE'RE HAVING.

UM, SO LAST YEAR WE BEGAN DEVELOPMENT, UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR AND NEXT YEAR WE'LL CONTINUE, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PROJECT, GETTING IT TO THE POINT WHERE WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UM, DEPLOY IT CITYWIDE NEXT YEAR.

UM, NEXT SLIDE.

SO REALLY JUST A DESCRIPTION ON HOW E V P THEN AND, YOU KNOW, IN THE FUTURE WORKS.

UM, AS I INDICATED BEFORE, TRANSMITTER ON THE FIRETRUCK EMS VEHICLE RECEIVER AT THE SIGNAL, UM, REALLY NEEDS A LINE OF SIGHT.

SO, YOU KNOW, ON ROADWAYS THAT, UM, HAVE CURVATURE OR SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TREES, THAT CAN CERTAINLY LIMIT THE LINE OF SIGHT FOR, UM, EMERGENCY VEHICLES TO THE POINT WHERE AT SOME LOCATIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE TRANSMITTER OR THE RECEIVER AT THE SIGNAL CAN'T SEE THE TRANSMITTER UNTIL THEY'RE ALMOST ON TOP OF THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL.

UM, THE PROPOSED, THE PROPOSED SYSTEM, UM, WILL BE GETTING VEHICLE LOCATION DATA FROM, YOU KNOW, FROM VEHICLES THAT WILL BE PASSED TO OUR TRAFFIC SIGNAL SERVERS IN WHICH WE WILL, UM, DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE WITHIN, UH, VIRTUAL ZONES.

AND WHEN THEY ARE, THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND SEND A SIGNAL TO OUR TRAFFIC SIGNAL, UM, SO THAT A PREEMPTION CAN BE, CAN BE IMPLEMENTED.

UM, ONE OF THE BIG BENEFITS OF THIS TYPE OF METHOD METHODOLOGY IS THAT THERE'S NO ADDITIONAL, UM, EQUIPMENT NEEDED IN THE FIELD.

WE HAVE COMMUNICATION TO ALL OF OUR TRAFFIC SIGNALS, SO AS LONG AS THAT IS MAINTAINED AND, AND OPERATING WE'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE PREEMPTION.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO T S P, AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE IT ON TWO ROUTES.

UM, AND WE'VE HAD THAT SINCE 2013.

UM, THE WAY THAT SYSTEM WAS SET UP, A LOT OF THE, UM, LOGIC WAS ON CAP METRO SIDE AS FAR AS, UM, THEY BUILT IN WHERE THE BUSES NEEDED TO BE WHEN THEY SENT A REQUEST FOR, UM, FOR T S P, UM, IN THAT SYSTEM, BECAUSE OF THE SIGNAL SOFTWARE WE HAD AT THE TIME WERE REALLY LIMITED ONLY TO PROVIDING A SMALL GREEN EXTENSION, UM, OF THE, OF THE SIGNAL.

UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE, ARE DOING IS WE ARE ABSORBING ALL OF THE BUSINESS BUSINESS LOGIC.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WITHIN OUR OWN SYSTEM, WE'LL DEFINE THESE ZONES IN WHICH, UM, A TRANSIT VEHICLE CAN REQUEST T S P.

SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE SEEING PERFORMANCE ISSUES WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PROVIDING 10 EXTRA SECONDS, BUT THE BUSES AND GETTING THROUGH, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO EXTEND THAT ZONE SO THAT, UM, WE GET NOTIFIED A LITTLE EARLIER, WHICH THEN WOULD BASICALLY MEAN WE COULD INCREASE THAT, UH, GREEN EXTENSION.

UM, AND LIKEWISE THE, THE FURTHER IN ADVANCE, IN ADVANCE OF THE SIGNAL THAT WE CAN GET NOTIFICATION THAT THE, THAT THE BUS IS COMING, THE EASIER IT IS FOR US TO ADJUST THE SIGNAL TIMING TO REDUCE THE IMPACTS TO OTHER VEHICLES IN THE SYSTEM.

UM, AND THE BIGGEST BENEFIT OF, OF THIS TYPE OF METHODOLOGY IS THE FACT THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO SCALE IT

[00:10:01]

UM, IT REALLY DIDN'T SCALE VERY WELL, SO WE'RE KIND OF LIMITED TO JUST TWO ROUTES, YOU KNOW, AT ABOUT 140 SIGNALS.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO JUST A BRIEF STATUS OF WHERE WE ARE WITH THIS PROJECT.

UM, LAST YEAR WE HAD IMPLEMENTED THE FIRST 15 SIGNALS, UM, FOR T S P, UM, AND WE WENT AHEAD AND, YOU KNOW, OBSERVED THEM, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFIED A FEW BUGS, GOT THOSE CORRECTED, AND THEN IN THE LAST MONTH, MONTH AND A HALF, WE COMPLETED, UM, PHASE ONE, WHICH WAS DEPLOYMENT OF 50, UM, TRAFFIC SIGNALS.

SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE WITHIN PHASE ONE IN WHICH WE'RE MONITORING, UM, THAT OPERATION AND, UM, MAKING, MAKING TWEAKS TO AN ADJUSTMENTS, UM, SO THAT WE'LL BE READY TO, UH, DEPLOY CITYWIDE AT THE END OF THE, AT THE END OF THE YEAR.

UM, THE EVP SYSTEM, UM, MOST OF THE, MOST OF THE BACKEND SOFTWARE HAS BEEN COMPLETED REALLY IN CONJUNCTION WITH WITH T S P.

UM, IN MANY WAYS THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALMOST IDENTICAL IN NATURE, IT'S JUST HOW WE, UM, ASK THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL TO A, TO ACT WHEN THEY RECEIVE THAT, UM, THAT SIGNAL.

UM, AND CURRENTLY WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH, YOU KNOW, A F D E EMS AND, UM, AND THEIR CAT OPERATORS ON GETTING, UM, RELIABLE LOW LATENCY AT VEHICLE LOCATION DATA.

UM, NEXT SLIDE.

UM, THIS IS JUST GRAPHICAL INTERFACE OF, OF ZONES.

UM, AND YOU KNOW, WHEN OUR OPERATORS ARE MONITORING THE SYSTEM, THEY CAN SEE WHEN VEHICLES ENTER A ZONE, UM, AND YOU KNOW, IT'LL LIGHT UP AND THEN THERE'S SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WE CAN GATHER FROM IT, SPEED OF THE VEHICLES, UM, AND WHETHER THE VEHICLES ARE LATE OR NOT.

UM, AND REALLY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL BE BUILDING OUT HERE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS ARE A LOT OF THE REPORTING CAPABILITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THE SYSTEM IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, THE FREQUENCY, THE TRAFFIC SIGNALS, UM, RECEIVE T S P REQUESTS AND E V P REQUESTS, YOU KNOW, THE SPEED OF VEHICLES OR DELAY WITHIN THESE ZONES.

UM, REALLY THE, THE TYPE OF MEASUREMENTS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE REALLY NOT SEEING, YOU KNOW, ACROSS, YOU KNOW, THE INDUSTRY WHEN WE DO LITERATURE SEARCHES, UM, WE DON'T SEE, WE DON'T SEE A LOT OF GREAT BEFORE AND AFTER, UM, YOU KNOW, COMPARISONS AND, YOU KNOW, WITH THE 8 0 1, 8 0 3 BECAUSE THE TSP SYSTEM WENT LIVE WHEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN THOSE ROUTES WENT LIVE, YOU KNOW, THERE REALLY WASN'T A BEFORE CONDITION.

UM, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING ABLE TO SEE THE TRUE EFFECTIVENESS BY MONITORING, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW TRANSIT ROUTES ARE IMPACTED ONCE THIS GOES LIVE, WHAT THE REDUCTION IN, UM, YOU KNOW, EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE ONCE WE GO LIVE.

UM, AND THAT IS PRETTY MUCH THE UPDATE.

UM, I AM OPEN TO QUESTIONS NOW.

YEAH, I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO, UM, QUANTIFY THE EFFECTS, SO TO SAY LIKE, UM, SINCE 2013 WE'VE SAVED, UM, YOU KNOW, X NUMBER OF MINUTES ON TRANSIT VEHICLES FOR, UM, INDIVIDUALS TRAVELING ON THE 8 0 1, 8 0 3, UM, THROUGH THIS PROGRAM.

LIKE, I WAS JUST CURIOUS, LIKE, THAT WOULD BE DATA THAT I THINK A LOT OF US WOULD BE CURIOUS ABOUT.

UM, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL ARE ABLE TO DO? DO YOU GET LIKE RECORDS OF OF THAT? SO, SO WHEN WE IMPLEMENTED 8 0 1, 8 0 3, LIKE I SAID, THERE REALLY WASN'T A BEFORE CASE THAT WE COULD COMPARE TO.

UM, BUT THAT IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF STORY THAT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO, TO TELL ONCE, YOU KNOW, ONCE WE'RE READY TO GO LIVE.

AND ONE OF THE CHALLENGES, ONCE YOU GO LIVE, IT'S VERY HARD TO TURN IT OFF AND, YOU KNOW, FOR TWO WEEKS TO BE ABLE TO MEASURE A, YOU KNOW, A NOT ON CONDITION.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE WORKED, WE'VE WORKED WITH CAT METRO, UM, IN TERMS OF IDENTIFYING THE, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST 15, THE FIRST 50, UM, BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY BE WORKING WITH THEM TO, UM, YOU KNOW, DETERMINE WHAT AVERAGE, UM, YOU KNOW, TRAVEL TIME ACROSS A SPECIFIC ROUTE IS, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE TURN IT ON.

AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE'LL WORK WITH THEM LOOKING AT PASSENGER COUNTS AND, AND TAKING MEASUREMENTS AFTER, YOU KNOW, THE SYSTEM IS ACTIVE.

[00:15:10]

IS IT ONE YOU'VE LOOKED AT OR AT ALL FAMILIAR WITH? I COULDN'T SAY THAT I AM.

UM, IT, I, I MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH THE, THE SYSTEM THAT THEY USE, UM, IF IT WAS, YOU KNOW, IF I HAD THE, THE MAKE AND MODEL OF IT, BUT I COULDN'T, I COULDN'T TELL YOU OFFHAND.

APPARENTLY IT'S PARTLY HOMEGROWN, SO YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO FIND UP MUCH ABOUT IT UNLESS YOU TALK TO THEM DIRECTLY.

BUT ATP STAFF HAVE MENTIONED THAT AS A SYSTEM, AS A MODEL FOR WHAT IS POSSIBLE WITH PSP.

GOOD.

IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, WE'LL LET BRIAN GO AND, UH, ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.

YEP.

THANKS.

VERY DEFINITELY.

VERY INTERESTING.

OKAY, ALL THE NEXT ITEM

[3. Discussion and possible action on Vision Zero Updates Presenter: Lewis Leff, Transportation and Public Works Department]

LEFT IT UP, I'M SLIDE STAY RIGHT THERE.

I'M GONNA RIGHT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR INVITING ME BACK.

IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU, GET ALL AN UPDATE ON WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON AND SOME OF THE TRENDS AND INSIGHTS THAT WE'RE SEEING WITH THE DATA.

UM, THE FIRST HALF OF THE PRESENTATION WILL BE VERY DATA FOCUSED, SO LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT ME TO PAUSE ALONG THE WAY OR WE CAN KIND OF PAUSE AFTER THAT DATA SECTION AND THEN WE'LL JUMP INTO MORE PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES THAT IMPACTS.

SO, UH, AS WAS MENTIONED, MY NAME IS LEWIS LEFT.

I'M THE TRANSPORTATION SAFETY OFFICER, LEADING OUR COMMUNITIES VISION ZERO EFFORTS FROM OUR NEW TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, UH, AS WE USUALLY DO.

BEFORE WE START, I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYONE WHY WE'RE HERE AND WHY WE DO THE WORK THAT WE DO.

WE USE THIS PUBLIC HEALTH METRIC CALLED YEARS OF LIFE LOSS TO REMIND OURSELVES OF ALL THE YEARS THAT PEOPLE DON'T GET TO EXPERIENCE BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN, UH, PREMATURELY KILLED IN A TRAFFIC CRASH.

SO THEY DON'T GET TO EXPERIENCE THAT, AND THAT MEANS THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR FRIENDS ALSO DO NOT GET TO EXPERIENCE THAT OVER TIME.

SO JUST A MOMENT TO REFLECT ON THE REALLY TRAGIC LOSS THAT WE'VE HADN'T EXPERIENCED JUST WITHIN THE FIRST FEW MONTHS OF THIS YEAR IN MARCH.

SO AS A REMINDER AND, AND THE CONTEXT OF WHAT TYPE OF WORK WE DO AND, AND WHY WE DO IT, IT'S, IT'S REALLY AROUND THE SAFE SYSTEMS APPROACH AND THAT RECOGNIZES THAT IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE, THE ROADWAY USERS AND THEIR BEHAVIORS.

IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT HOW WE DESIGN THE ROADS.

IT'S A MIX OF A, A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TOPICS THAT ARE ALL GONNA HAVE TO COME TOGETHER AND, AND WORK TOGETHER TOWARDS THE SAFER GOAL THAT WE'RE TRYING TO REACH OF ZERO RELATED FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES.

AND THIS REALLY IS AN ETHICAL APPROACH, AND IT'S ABOUT NOT ACCEPTING THESE FATALITIES OF SERIOUS INJURIES AS SOMETHING THAT JUST HAPPENS IN THE RUNWAYS.

IT'S JUST PART OF THE TRADE OFF OF GETTING AROUND TOWN IS THAT WE HAVE PEOPLE DYING EVERY THREE AND FOUR DAYS IN AUSTIN.

THE HUMAN BODY'S VULNERABLE AND WE KNOW THAT THE HUMANS, UH, EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES.

AND WHEN YOU COMBINE THAT ABILITY TO MAKE MISTAKES WITH BEING BEHIND THE WHEEL OF A TWO TON VEHICLE, THAT MEANS THAT THOSE MISTAKES CAN BECOME FATAL PRETTY EASILY.

SO RECOGNIZING THOSE ASPECTS, WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS REALLY SEPARATE USERS IN TIME AND SPACE.

THAT MEANS WITH SIGNAL TIMING THAT BRIAN WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT, WE CAN DIVIDE A LEADING PEDESTRIAN INTERVAL, LETTING FOLKS START TO CROSS THE ROAD BEFORE THE VEHICLES START, OR SEPARATING USERS AS THEN SHARED USE PASS OR SEPARATED BIKE FACILITIES TO BE ABLE TO SEPARATE THEM FROM THE MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC MAKES IT SAFER FOR EVERYBODY ON THE ROADWAYS.

AND JUST MENTIONING ONE LAST PIECE, WE REALLY CAN'T PREDICT WHERE THE NEXT SEVERE CRASH HAPPENS.

YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY IS SERIOUSLY INJURED EVERY 16 HOURS ON AVERAGE, AND AUSTIN, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THE NEXT ONE'S GONNA HAPPEN EXACTLY, BUT WE KNOW THE FREQUENT ONES THAT OCCUR ON THE SAME TYPES OF ROADWAYS.

WE KNOW THE CONDITIONS WHERE IT'S MORE LIKELY TO OCCUR.

AND THAT'S WHAT WE REALLY TRY TO FOCUS ON, BEING PROACTIVE, NOT JUST REACTIVE TO THE HISTORY OF CRASHES.

ZERO.

AND THE SAFE SYSTEM APPROACH IS NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, ME, MY TEAM OF FIVE PEOPLE, OUR DEPARTMENTS, IT'S REALLY ALL THESE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE SYSTEMS COMING TOGETHER.

AND THAT MEANS LAW ENFORCEMENT.

THAT MEANS, UH, SOME TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT ON THE ROADWAYS, THAT MEANS

[00:20:01]

THAT MEANS CAT METRO PROVIDING OPTIONS FOR MASS TRANSIT, WHICH IS TYPICALLY MUCH SAFER THAN BEING, UH, A SINGLE DRIVER IN A VEHICLE.

THAT MEANS THE POLICY MAKERS HAVE TO BE ON BOARD, AND THAT MEANS DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS ARE ALL WORKING TOGETHER TOWARDS THIS SAME GOAL.

SO, UH, THANKFULLY WE'VE BEEN A VISION ZERO CITY FOR SEVEN, EIGHT YEARS NOW, AND WE'VE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS IN THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE, BUILDING UP THAT KNOWLEDGE BASE AND KNOWING WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T, UH, BUT WE'VE GOTTA KEEP WORKING TOWARDS EVERYBODY WORKING TOWARDS THE SAME GOAL AT THE END OF THE DAY.

HERE'S SOME OF THE DATA AND TRENDS THROUGH THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THE YEAR.

UH, THESE ARE BY CRASHES, AND THE NEXT SLIDE WILL BE BY ACTUAL PEOPLE.

SO LOOKING AT CRASHES, SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES, WE'VE HAD 107 RELATIVE TO THIS POINT.

LAST YEAR WAS 110, SO A LITTLE BIT OF A REDUCTION THERE.

WHEREAS WE'VE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF A, AN INCREASE IN FATAL CRASHES.

AND YOU CAN SEE THE HIGHLIGHTED NUMBERS, PEDESTRIAN SEARS INJURIES AND PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES ARISING IN AUSTIN AS THEY HAVE BEEN, UH, THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF TEXAS AS THEY HAVE BEEN NATIONALLY.

AND WE SEE THE MOTORIST DEATHS ARE, AND SERIOUS INJURIES CONTINUE TO BE THE MAJORITY OF THE DEATHS AND SERIOUS INJURIES THAT WE SEE OVER TIME.

BUT YOU CAN SEE JUST SHIFTING FROM SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES OVER TO FATAL CRASHES, THAT PERCENTAGE THAT RELATIVE SHARE, UH, YOU START TO SEE THE VULNERABLE USERS, PEOPLE WALKING AND BIKING START TO SHOW UP MORE FREQUENTLY, ADJUST SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES, AND THEY SHOW UP MORE FREQUENTLY THAN THEY WOULD INGEST ALL OVERALL CRASHES AS WELL BECAUSE OF THAT VULNERABILITY HERE IS THE BY MODE FATES, UH, AND SERIOUS INJURIES BY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN INJURED OR KILLED.

THE SAME THING SHOWS UP HERE AS FAR AS PERCENTAGES SHARE OVERALL AMOUNTS.

WE STILL, AGAIN, HAVE SEEN ABOUT A FLAT SERIOUS INJURY NUMBER RELATIVE TO LAST YEAR AND A LITTLE BIT HIGHER ON THE FATALITY NUMBER.

PRETTY MUCH I WANNA FOCUS IN PARTICULARLY ON THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE WALKING OR BIKING, JUST TO SHOW YOU A LITTLE BIT OF, OF THE INSIGHTS THAT WE FIND AND, AND TRY TO CONTINUE TO MAKE PROGRESS ON JUST UNDERSTANDING THE, THE DATA FROM DIFFERENT LENSES.

UH, IF WE SHOW BY DAY OF THE WEEK AND BY HOUR OF THE DAY AND FOUR HOUR BINS WHEN CYCLIST CRASHES HAPPEN OVERALL, AND THEN WE REALLY DIG DOWN INTO THOSE FATAL AND SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES THAT WE'RE TRYING HARDEST TO AVOID.

YOU CAN SEE THAT THE TRENDS ARE TYPICALLY AROUND THE MOST ACTIVITY DURING THE WEEK, UM, FOR OVERALL CYCLISTS CRASHES.

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT SHIFT THAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET INTO THOSE LATE NIGHT, UH, LATE, LATE EVENING, EARLY KIND OF OVERNIGHT PERIOD.

YOU START TO SEE MORE OF THOSE, UH, SERIOUS INJURIES AND FATALITIES HAPPEN IN THOSE DARKER PERIODS.

IT'S A SIMILAR CONDITION WITH THE PEDESTRIAN CRASHES AS WELL.

UM, OVERALL, YOU KNOW, WE SEE THE, UH, MAJORITY OF THOSE CRASHES HAPPENING IN THE EVENING AND, AND THE PM PEAK WHEN MOST PEOPLE ARE GETTING AROUND.

AND THEN INTO THOSE EVENING HOURS, PARTICULARLY ON THE WEEKENDS, YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THOSE HIGHER NUMBERS, EVEN THOUGH ACTIVITY RELATIVE TO A WEEKDAY IS A LITTLE BIT LESS.

TRY TO MOVE THIS FOR FOLKS THIS ROOM.

UH, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THE SAME THING HAPPENS.

THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A SHIFT.

YOU SEE EVEN HIGHER NUMBERS IN THOSE EARLY MORNING HOURS AFTER MIDNIGHT, UH, PARTICULARLY ON THE WEEKENDS, SATURDAY, SUNDAY MORNINGS, WHEN YOU DON'T TYPICALLY SEE THAT SORT OF ACTIVITY OVERALL DURING THE WEEK WHEN YOU'RE JUST LOOKING AT PEDESTRIAN CRASHES OVERALL.

SO A SHIFT INTO THOSE LATE NIGHT, EARLY EVENING, OVERNIGHT HOURS WHEN IT'S DARK, WHEN YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF THINGS LIKE IMPAIRMENTS AND DRESSINESS AND OTHER THINGS PLAYING OUT, THAT'S WHEN WE SEE THE MAJORITY OF OUR SERIOUS INJURY FATAL CRASHES FOR PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF VEHICLES HIGHLIGHTING THAT FROM A GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE, UH, WHERE THESE ACTUALLY HAPPENED, YOU KNOW, I THINK A LOT OF FOLKS ASSUME THEY'RE HAPPENING AT CROSSWALKS.

UM, BUT THE REALITY IS WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF THESE HAPPEN ON FREEWAYS.

A LOT OF THESE HAPPEN ON ARTERIALS AND SERVICE ROADS IN THE MID-BLOCK AREAS, AND THEN INTERSECTIONS ARE ACTUALLY A SMALLER PERCENTAGE OVERALL RELATIVES TO SOME OTHERS.

AND THERE'S A CATEGORY HERE CALLED NEAR VEHICLE, NEAR PEDESTRIAN ON THE PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES LOOKING AT THE LAST THREE YEARS.

AND REALLY THAT'S, WE'VE SEEN A INCREASE IN PEOPLE GETTING OUT OF THEIR CARS FROM A MINOR CAR CRASH AND BEING ABLE, BEING HIT AND STRUCK AND KILLED AFTER THAT AS A SECONDARY CRASH.

SO THEY'RE COUNTED AS PEDESTRIANS EVEN IF IT WAS A SECONDARY CRASH AFTER THEY HAD JUST GOTTEN OUTTA THEIR CARS.

ALSO SEEN SOME UNIQUE RUNOFF, THE ROAD TYPES OF SITUATIONS WHERE SOMEBODY MIGHT BE IN A PRIVATE PARKING LOT OFF OF THE FREEWAY OFF OF THE SERVICE ROAD AND, AND THEY GET HIT AND KILLED.

SO SOME OF THESE ARE, UH, ARE UNIQUE SITUATIONS, BUT THE MAJORITY ARE HAPPENING ON OUR FREEWAYS OR MAJOR ARTERIALS IN OUR SERVICE ROADS, KIND OF IN THOSE MID-BLOCK AREAS.

NOT AS MANY HAPPENING ON INTERSECTIONS.

SAME THING WITH CYCLIST FATALITIES.

A LOT OF THE MAJORITY OF THE ONES THAT WE SEE ARE HAPPENING MORE OUTSIDE OF INTERSECTIONS IN THOSE MID-BLOCK AREAS.

AND I THINK IT LEADS US TO BELIEVE THAT THOSE SHARED USE PATHS SEPARATED BY FACILITIES ARE REALLY WHERE WE NEED TO FOCUS ON OUR ENGINEERING DESIGN EFFORTS.

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT,

[00:25:01]

I WANNA BREAK DOWN A LITTLE BIT OF THE, THE ROADWAY OWNERSHIP.

UH, WE'VE TALKED QUITE A BIT ABOUT THIS IN RECENT YEARS, JUST RECOGNIZING THE DIFFERENCE OF HOW THE ROADS ARE DESIGNED WHEN THEY'RE DESIGNED WITH, YOU KNOW, MOVING VEHICLES THROUGH QUICKLY AND MOVING THE VAST MAJORITY OF VEHICLES AND, AND HIGHER VOLUMES OF VEHICLES THROUGH QUICKLY.

YOU SEE THESE TRENDS START TO PLAY OUT NEGATIVELY FOR PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF VEHICLES.

AND SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IN THE TOP GRAPH HERE IS JUST THE TREND OVER TIME FROM A SIX YEAR LOOK THROUGH 2022, THE DARKER LINE IS THE PEDESTRIANS THAT ARE HAPPENING ON STATE-OWNED ROADS.

AND THEN THIS IS THE PEDESTRIAN TREND OVER TIME ON CITY ROADS, WE'RE SEEING THE SAME THING WITH THE DARK SOLID LINE FOR CYCLISTS.

AND THE DOTTED LINE IS THE OFF SYSTEM, THE CITY-OWNED ROADS FOR CYCLISTS.

SO YOU CAN SEE THAT TREND IS REALLY INCREASING ON THOSE STATE-OWNED ROADS RISES, IT'S BEEN RELATIVELY FLAT IN A, IN A BIT OF AN INCREASE THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS FOR THE OFF SYSTEM ROADWAYS.

THIS IS BY AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN STREET LEVEL.

AGAIN, JUST ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT IT, SIMILAR CONCEPTS, YOU KNOW, LEVEL FIVES ARE THESE FREEWAYS, LEVEL FOURS ARE FRONTAGE ROADS AND SOME OF OUR MAJOR ARTERIALS LEVEL THREES OUR ARE CITY STREETS.

SO YOU CAN SEE THE MAJORITY OF 'EM, YOU CAN SEE THE TREND PLAYING OUT YEAR BY YEAR.

THERE'S BEEN AN INCREASE GENERALLY IN THE, THE HIGHER LEVEL STREETS WHERE THERE'S WIDER FASTER ROADWAYS, PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES BY YEAR.

JUST SHOWING YOU STATEWIDE TRENDS AND HOW THAT RELATES TO THE ON SYSTEM, OFF SYSTEM WITHIN THE CITY.

STATEWIDE TRENDS, AS WE MENTIONED EARLIER, HAVE BEEN GOING UP OVER TIME AND YOU CAN SEE THAT TREND ON SYSTEM ROADS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS ALSO GOING UP SIMILAR RATES, WHEREAS THE OFF SYSTEM ROADWAYS HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY FLAT OVER THAT SAME PERIOD.

CYCLIST FATALITIES HAVE BEEN RISING ON SYSTEM, UH, THROUGHOUT THE, OR STATEWIDE OVERALL, THAT DARK LINE THERE AND YOU CAN SEE THE SCALE HERE IS A LITTLE BIT SMALL.

THANKFULLY WE DON'T HAVE AS MANY OF THOSE BICYCLIST FATALITIES IN AUSTIN.

SO, UH, SEEMS TO JUMP AROUND QUITE A BIT, JUST RECOGNIZING THAT THE SCALE IS A LITTLE BIT SMALL.

WE'VE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OFF SYSTEM AND ON SYSTEM ROADS FOR CYCLIST FATALITIES.

STEPPING BACK TO OVERALL CRASHES, NOT JUST PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS, BUT OVERALL, UH, SEEING THE TRENDS OVER TIME WITH ON SYSTEM ROADWAYS, HOW THAT'S PLAYED OUT SINCE 2015 VERSUS THE TREND LINE FOR OFF SYSTEM CITY OF AUSTIN.

A COUPLE OF OTHER UNIQUE GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS, BUT REALLY THE TRENDS ARE, ARE PRETTY CLEAR THAT WE'VE SEEN THIS INCREASE ON THESE HIGHER, FASTER ROADWAYS AND WE'VE SEEN RELATIVELY FLAT A LITTLE BIT OF A DECLINING TREND OVER TIME.

ON THE OFF SYSTEM ROADS LAST YEAR WAS THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE WE'VE SEEN IN RECENT YEARS.

UH, THREE OUTTA FOUR OF THE FATAL FATAL CRASHES HAPPENING ON SYSTEM, WHEREAS, UH, THIS YEAR, 65%, ACTUALLY THE LATEST NUMBER I SAW THROUGH APRIL WAS BACK UP TO 70%.

SO IT'S USUALLY TWO OUT OF THREE.

AND LAST YEAR WAS THREE OUT OF FOUR FATAL CRASHES OVERALL HAPPENING STATE ON ROADS.

SO JUST CAN TAKE AWAYS FROM THE DATA BEFORE WE TAKE A PAUSE.

UM, REALLY WE'RE ABOUT FLAT RELATIVE TO LAST YEAR THROUGH MARCH.

FATAL CRASHES ARE UP AND SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES ARE DOWN.

SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES ARE TYPICALLY A HIGHER NUMBER.

SO OVERALL FLAT TOTAL REPORTED CRASHES CITYWIDE DOWN ABOUT 6% HIGHLIGHTED THOSE EARLY MORNING AND EVENING HOURS AS TYPICALLY PROBLEMATIC IN IN HAVING THE MAJORITY OF OUR FATAL CRASHES.

54% OF THE FATAL CRASHES IN JUST A THIRD OF THE DATE PERIOD AND JUST MENTIONING THAT GOES UP TO 70%.

THE ACCOUNT FOR THE PEDESTRIANS WINDOW PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES OCCURRED IN THE LAST KEY POINTS.

JUST THE ON SYSTEM FATALITIES CONTINUE TO BE AT LEAST 65 PERCENT'S CLOSER TO 70, 75% AT THIS POINT, ALL TRAFFIC RELATED FATALITIES IN AUSTIN.

SO I'LL PAUSE THERE AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS.

I DON'T KNOW IF OR ANYTHING I GUESS THAT'S SUGGEST, UH, JUST RAISING YOUR VOICE IF YOU GOT SOMETHING YOU TO ANSWER.

ALRIGHT, HEARING NONE .

YES.

WELL, I'LL, OH, YOU'VE, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THOSE, THOSE STATS ARE SOBERING AND, UM, I KNOW THAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH YOUR PARTNERS AT TECH DOT, UM, ON THIS AND THERE'S VARIOUS EFFORTS AT THE STATE LEVEL AS WELL FOR SAFETY.

BUT, UM, I THINK THAT THAT'S OBVIOUSLY A, A CRITICAL PARTNERSHIP HERE.

WHEN WE LOOK AT THE ON SYSTEM AND OFF SYSTEM, I'M STATING THE OBVIOUS.

SO, UM, OF COURSE THAT DOESN'T EXCUSE US FOR THE, LIKE OUR OWN ROADS, BUT IT'S, IT'S, THAT'S REALLY, UM, REALLY, REALLY MARKED.

SO YES, YEAH, WE, WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH , THEIR EMAIL CHAINS OR PHONE CALLS ON OUR, ON A DAILY BASIS AND CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THEM ON SOME OF THOSE HIGH OPPORTUNITY AREAS, SEEING IF WE CAN EVEN CONTRIBUTE CITY FUNDS, CITY BOND DOLLARS TOWARDS IMPROVING SOME

[00:30:01]

UM, WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE THE NUMBERS OVERALL, YOU KNOW, FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, ANYBODY DYING ON THE ROADWAYS, ANYBODY SERIOUSLY INJURED, DOESN'T MATTER, YOU KNOW, WHO OWNS THE ROADWAY ON PAPER? WE WANNA TRY TO REDUCE THOSE OVERALL AND I THINK, UH, WE'RE THANKFUL THAT WE'VE GOT THE SIMILAR ALIGNMENT ON THE POLICY GOALS OF ZERO DEATHS.

UH, STATE OF TEXAS ADOPTED THEIRS A COUPLE, THREE YEARS AFTER WE DID, BUT THANKFULLY WE'RE ALIGNED ON THE POLICY GOAL AND NOW WE'VE GOT A NATIONAL ROADWAY STRATEGY WITH THE U S D O T AS WELL AND ZERO DEATH GOAL.

SO FROM THE POLICY PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE ALL ALIGNED ON THE OVERALL GOAL.

HOPEFULLY THAT STARTS TO LEAD TO BETTER OUTCOMES OVERALL, RIGHT? KEEP US MOVING.

IF ANYBODY ELSE WANTS JUMP IN AT ANY POINT, LEMME KNOW.

UH, SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE DO.

WE'VE GOT QUITE A BIT UNDERWAY.

UH, THE MAP ON THE RIGHT IS FROM, UM, A PUBLIC WEBPAGE THAT SHOWS US SHOWS WHERE THE WORK IS BEING DONE, WHERE THERE'S PROJECTS THAT ARE EITHER PLANNED IN PROGRESS, IS THE BLUE OR COMPLETED AS THE ORANGE, AND THAT'S ACROSS MULTIPLE BOND PROGRAMS. WE'VE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE OUR COMMUNITY SUPPORT, OUR VISION ZERO WORK FROM 2016 BONDS, 2018 BONDS AND 2020.

WE'VE ALSO BEEN, UH, VERY ACTIVE AND PROACTIVE IN TRYING TO LEVERAGE THOSE BOND DOLLARS FOR FEDERAL FUNDS THAT COME THROUGH.

AND YOU'RE SEEING SOME OF THESE LOCATIONS SAY HS I P, THAT'S THE HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, FEDERAL FUNDS THAT FLOW THROUGH THE STATE OF TEXAS THAT ALLOW FOR SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS AT HIGH OPPORTUNITY AREAS.

WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO LEVERAGE OUR COMMUNITY BOND DOLLARS TO, TO PITCH IN THE LOCAL MATCH FOR THOSE.

AND I THINK WE'VE GOT OVER $5 MILLION THROUGH THAT PROGRAM.

AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT LATER ABOUT, UM, SOME UPCOMING WORK WITH THE SAFE STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL FEDERAL GRANT FUNDS THAT WERE NEW AS OF LAST YEAR THAT WE WERE AWARDED AND WORKING TOWARDS A GREAT AGREEMENT ON THAT.

SO THIS IS JUST SOME OF THE WORK THAT WILL BE HAPPENING.

UH, YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION HAPPENING ON INTERSECTIONS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO IMPROVE AND, AND THANKFULLY WE'VE BEEN MAKING GREAT PROGRESS AND SCALING UP THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.

SO A LOT OF WORK ONGOING AND A LOT OF WORK IN DESIGN AS WELL, UH, MENTIONED THAT IT'S NOT JUST INTERSECTION SAFETY THAT WE LOOK AT, THERE'S A VARIETY OF TYPES OF WORK THAT WE DO.

SYSTEMIC SAFETY IS NOT JUST LOOKING AT HISTORIC CRASHES, BUT LOOKING AT TREATMENTS THAT CAN BE APPLIED AT LOCATIONS WHERE WE KNOW THOSE CONDITIONS MIGHT LEAD TO THESE SEVERE CRASHES.

SO CURVES ARE ONE AREA WHERE WE KNOW THAT THERE'S, UH, BEEN A HISTORY OF CRASHES AT SOME LOCATIONS AND WE DID A CITYWIDE SCAN TO SEE WHERE THESE OTHER HIGH OPPORTUNITY CURVE LOCATIONS MIGHT BE TO TRY TO ADDRESS WITH, WITH SOME SIGNS AND MARKINGS AS YOU CAN SEE, ADDITIONAL, UM, RAISE PAPER MARKERS, THE RPMS THAT ARE ON THE GROUND THAT GUIDE YOU WHEN YOU'RE GOING AROUND THE CURVE.

AND SO TRYING TO, UH, DO THAT AT 40 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.

WE'VE COMPLETED THE MAJORITY OF 'EM AND AWAITING SOME SIGN INSTALLATIONS FOR THE LAST FEW, BUT THAT'S A SYSTEMIC SAFETY PROJECT THAT WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE DONE IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS.

UH, ACCESS MANAGEMENT IS ANOTHER THING, ANOTHER AREA THAT WE'VE WORKED ON, YOU KNOW, JUST TRYING TO REDUCE THOSE CONFLICTS THAT HAPPEN AND, AND THAT TYPE OF SITUATION YOU SEE ON THE LEFT IMAGE THERE IS, IS VERY COMMON THROUGHOUT CITIES LIKE AUSTIN THAT DEVELOPED THROUGHOUT THE SEVENTIES, EIGHTIES, NINETIES, WHERE WE'VE GOT A LOT OF SHOPPING CENTERS, A LOT OF BIG PARKING LOTS THAT FEED INTO MULTI-LINE ARTERIALS.

AND SO TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE COULD REDUCE THOSE CONFLICTS, GOING FROM A A DOZEN CONFLICT POINTS DOWN TO TWO OR THREE, IT'S REALLY GONNA MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE OVER TIME.

SO WORKING TOWARDS SOME GUIDELINES THERE, WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT AS WELL AS SOME, UH, PROACTIVE PROJECTS WHERE WE KNOW THOSE CONDITIONS EXIST.

UH, JUST MENTIONING TO A COUPLE OTHERS WORKING WITH OUR SIGNALS GROUP, BRIAN CRAIG AND HIS TEAM HAVE BEEN FANTASTIC TO WORK WITH ON SOME LEFT TURN GUIDELINES WHERE WE WANT TO PROTECT THOSE LEFT TURNS AT LIGHTS SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE THESE OPPOSITE DIRECTION CRASHES OR, OR LEFT TURN ACROSS PATH CRASHES THAT HAPPEN AT SIGNALS WHERE YOU'VE GOT, UH, EITHER A GREEN BALL OR A FLASHING YELLOW ARROW.

SOMETIMES THAT'S ENOUGH TO MOVE UP TO THE FLASHING YOUR ARROW, AND SOMETIMES WE NEED TO JUST PROTECT THOSE BASED ON THE CONDITIONS.

SO WORKING PROACTIVELY ON DOING PROTECTIVE LEFT TURNS AT DOZENS OF LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT TOWN.

AND I'LL JUST MENTION TO PEDESTRIAN CROSSING PROGRAMS, ANOTHER PROGRAM PUTTING IN PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS AT DOZENS OF LOCATIONS, MULTIPLE STREETS.

ANOTHER ONE YOU CAN FIND ON THE WEBSITE AS FAR AS WHAT'S IN CONSTRUCTION AND WHAT'S BEEN COMPLETED AND WHAT'S IN DESIGN.

AND UPCOMING LIGHTING IS ANOTHER AREA OF FOCUS.

UH, I MENTIONED ALL THE DATE, THE, THE DARK CONDITION CRASHES, THE 8:00 PM TO 4:00 AM TIME OF DAY.

YOU CAN SEE THE SAFETY BENEFITS THAT FROM A NATIONAL STANDARD IS, IS REALLY DRAMATIC IF YOU CAN HAVE BETTER LIGHTING SO PEOPLE CAN SEE AND BE SEEN ON THE ROADWAYS.

UH, WE'VE GOT FOUR OF THOSE HCI PROJECTS FOCUSED ON LIGHTING, HOPING TO GET THOSE THROUGH THE PERMITTING AND AND CONSTRUCTION PHASES OVER THE NEXT EIGHT MONTHS OR SO.

AND THEN CORRIDORS AND INTERSECTION LIGHTING THAT'S UNDERWAY.

WE'VE GOT CONSULTANT WORKING ON SPECIFIC HIGH OPPORTUNITY LOCATIONS, PARTICULARLY THOSE 2016 BOND LOCATIONS.

AND THEN, UH, WITH THAT NEW GRANT, WE'VE GOT A CITYWIDE LIGHTING STUDY THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING KICKING OFF IN THE NEXT YEAR.

SO EXCITED ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE TO REALLY HIGHLIGHT THE NEED FOR LIGHTING IF IT'S STARTING TO GET SOME PROJECTS ACTUALLY ON THE GROUND OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS.

[00:35:02]

I MENTIONED THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING NOW, BUT THAT'S BUILDING ON SOME PRIOR KIND OF INITIAL CONVERSATIONS, INITIAL TREATMENTS THAT WE'VE DONE, UH, HUGE REDUCTION, 60 PLUS PERCENT REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF THOSE TYPES OF CRASHES THAT WE CAN ADDRESS PRETTY QUICKLY.

HIGH BENEFIT COSTS WHEN YOU CAN CONSIDER SIGNAL TIMING CHANGES.

AND THEN, UH, A LAST ONE I'LL MENTION, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN THOSE SIGNS THAT SHOW YOU HOW FAST YOU'RE GOING ON CERTAIN ROADS.

UH, WE WORKED WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, THE CLASS DID A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF THE LOCATIONS THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY ADDED THESE AHEAD OF SOME OF OUR PROBLEMATIC INTERSECTIONS AND WE'VE SEEN 30 PLUS PERCENT CRASH REDUCTIONS AND A REDUCTION IN SEVERE CRASHES OF THOSE LOCATIONS AS WELL.

SO THERE'S SOMETHING THERE ABOUT NOTIFYING DRIVERS OF JUST HOW FAST THEY'RE GOING AND GETTING THEM BACK INTO PAYING ATTENTION FULLY TO THE ROADWAY AHEAD OF THESE INTERSECTIONS THAT'S STARTING TO SHOW A REAL DIFFERENCE IN CRASH OUTCOMES.

I WANNA MENTION ANOTHER PROJECT IN COORDINATION WITH OUR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION GROUP.

UH, IF Y'ALL HAVE BEEN OVER LONGHORN DAM, PLEASANT VALLEY, UH, BRIDGE THERE, YOU'VE SEEN THE THE DIFFERENCE OF THE ROADWAY CONFIGURATION THERE.

AND THIS IS REALLY ONE OF OUR MOST CRITICAL KIND OF TOOLS IN OUR TOOL BELT TO BE ABLE TO READJUST SOME OF THAT ROADWAY TO, TO BETTER OUTCOMES, BOTH FOR MOBILITY AND SAFETY PURPOSES.

GOING IN INTO THAT PROJECT, UH, WE HAD THIS ON OUR HIGH INJURY ROADWAYS AND COMING OUT OF IT WE'VE SEEN AN 82% REDUCTION IN INJURY TO FATAL CRASHES ON AN ANNUALIZED BASIS BY CHANGING THE ROADWAY CONFIGURATION, ADDING SOME PEDESTRIAN CROSSING ISLANDS, ADDING SOME, UH, PEDESTRIAN HYBRID BEACONS, MAKING THAT SHARED USE PATH A LITTLE BIT WIDER AND MORE COMFORTABLE OVER THE BRIDGE.

UH, SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN INJURY AND FATAL CRASHES.

40 PLUS PERCENT REDUCTION IN TOTAL CRASHES ON AN ANNUALIZED BASIS.

UH, SAME THING FOR PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF VEHICLES AND 68% REDUCTION IN THE TOP TWO CRASH TYPES TIED TO REAR ENDS THAT WE WERE TRYING TO FIX WITH SOME OF THOSE.

AND YOU CAN SEE THESE NEW TURN BAYS INTO THE CREEK FIELDS.

THERE'S NEW TURN BAYS INTO CANTERBURY STREET THAT'S REALLY MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE ON THIS ROADWAY.

AND UH, IF YOU'VE BEEN DOWN THERE, IF YOU'VE SEEN THE IMAGES, IT'S JUST AN INCREDIBLE, UH, TRANSFORMATION OF THE SPACE ITSELF.

THAT USED TO BE A VERY CONSTRAINED AREA FOR PEOPLE WALKING AND BIKING AROUND THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL.

BEING ABLE TO SEE THAT DIFFERENCE ON A DAILY BASIS, PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.

SO I'LL JUST MENTION THAT BEFORE I WRAP UP.

YOU KNOW, WE DO PAY ATTENTION TO THE POLICY AND PROCEDURES ASPECTS, MENTION THE ACCESS MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES.

WE'RE PUTTING IT IN PLACE, UH, SIGNAL, LEFT TURN GUIDELINES, INTERSECTION CONTROL EVALUATION, LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT SOME MORE ROUNDABOUTS THAT ARE REALLY EFFECTIVE AT REDUCING SEVERE CRASHES AT INTERSECTIONS.

AND THEN JUST MENTIONING FROM THE ENFORCEMENT PERSPECTIVE, UH, WE HAD A MEMO BACK TO COUNSEL IN DECEMBER AND A LOT OF TALK ABOUT ENFORCEMENT LATELY AND, AND TRYING TO SHOW THAT YOU CAN NARROW THAT FOCUS TO THE CRITICAL SAFETY BEHAVIORS OF DRIVERS THAT ARE CAUSING THESE SEVERE CRASHES.

STARTING TO THINK ABOUT ALTERNATIVES TO ENFORCEMENT AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR STATE LAW CHANGES OR WHAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO LOCALLY.

AND THEN JUST THINKING MORE HOLISTICALLY ABOUT THE COSTS TO THE COMMUNITY OF TRAFFIC CRASHES, WE'VE ACTUALLY GOT DATA NUMBERS IN THERE FROM A A DOLLAR'S PERSPECTIVE, FROM FIRE DEPARTMENT, FROM EMS, HOW MUCH IT COSTS THEM TO RESPOND TO ALL THESE CRASHES WHERE WE COULD BE PROACTIVE AND MAKE REAL SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE DESIGN OF THE ROADWAY, HOW WE OPERATE IT, AND SAVE SOME OF THOSE PUBLIC SAFETY DOLLARS AND RESOURCES FOR MAYBE HIGHER NEEDS.

ACTUALLY.

QUESTIONS ON, UM, SO AS I RECALL, WHEN IT WAS FIRST RELEASED RIGHT, IT RECOMMENDED, UH, CIVILIAN IZATION OF NON-MOVING OFFENSES AS THAT WAS CURRENTLY ALLOWED FOR STATE LAW.

HAS THERE BEEN ANY MOVEMENT, MOVEMENT ON DOING THAT? AND THEN ALSO IN THAT, HAS THERE BEEN AN EVALUATION OF WHETHER THAT NEEDS TO BE CITY EMPLOYEES OR WHETHER THAT COULD BE DONE ON A VOLUNTEER BASIS IS SIMILAR TO THE ACCESSIBLE PARKING ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM? YEAH, I THINK THAT WAS PART OF THE RESOLUTION WAS TO EXPLORE WHETHER OR NOT THAT'S POSSIBLE FOR THE NON-MOVING VIOLATIONS.

THERE'S STILL, UM, I THINK WITHIN THE, THE STATE CODE TRANSPORTATION CODE, THERE'S STILL SOME AREAS THAT HAVE TO BE DONE BY A PEACE OFFICER AS DEFINED BY THE CODE.

BUT FOR THE ONES THAT WE KNOW THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY DO SOME TRUCKING ENFORCEMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE GOT MOBILITY OFFICERS IN OUR DEPARTMENT, OUR TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT THAT ARE DOING SOME OF THAT WORK ALREADY AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT LIKE SPECIAL EVENTS.

WHAT OTHER THINGS CAN WE DO WITH, YOU KNOW, RECOGNIZING WHAT ABDS SAYING AND LACK OF RESOURCES, WHAT ELSE COULD WE TAKE ON AND TRY TO START TO MOVE OVER THAT AREN'T MOVING VIOLATIONS FOR THAT WORK.

SO I THINK WE'RE, YOU KNOW, STILL EXPLORING THAT STUFF, BUT I THINK WE'VE TAKEN ON WHAT WE KNOW I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN DO WITHOUT STATE LAW CHANGES, STILL LOOKING AT THE OTHER PIECES THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO.

RIGHT.

AND THE PARTS YOU'RE CONFIDENT THAT STATE LAW ALLOWS A NON PIECE OFFICER TO DO

[00:40:01]

WE'VE GOT CLARIFICATION OF THAT.

I THINK THERE ARE STILL SOME NON-MOVING VIOLATIONS THAT PEACE OFFICERS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.

SO FOR NON-MOVING, UM, ACTIVITIES, LET'S SAY, SO LIKE SPECIAL EVENTS DIRECTING TRAFFIC THAT'S, IT'S NOT A VIOLATION, BUT THAT'S A PEACE OFFICER THAT HAS TO DO THAT.

GOTCHA.

IS MY UNDERSTANDING.

SO, UM, THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, BARRICADES AND MAYBE SOME OTHER PARTS THAT AREN'T DIRECTING TRAFFIC ACTIVELY THAT WE COULD DO INSTEAD OF A POLICE OFFICER.

THAT'S WHAT WE CONTINUE TO TRY TO LOOK FOR.

SO SEPARATE OUT WHAT OTHER THINGS THAT ARE REQUIRED BY C LAW OR DEFINED BY STATE LAW VERSUS, AND THEN MY FOLLOW UP TO THAT WOULD BE, THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY BEFORE THE MERGER OF AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS.

UM, HAS ANY OF THAT ENFORCEMENT PIECE FROM INSIDE, WHAT WAS AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION CHANGED AS A RESULT OF THAT REORGANIZATION? ARE THE THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW TO MODERNIZE THAT OR HAS THAT BEEN STRAIGHT CARRIED ACROSS? WHEN YOU SAY MODERNIZE, UM, EXPAND IS PROBABLY A BETTER WORD THAN MODERNIZE.

YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE RIGHT NOW STILL IN THE PROCESS OF MERGING THE TWO DEPARTMENTS.

IT'S GONNA TAKE, UM, A GOOD LITTLE WHILE TO DO THAT JUST BASED ON THE SIZE.

I THINK WE'RE UP TO A THOUSAND FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES NOW AND SO, UM, I HAVE NOT SEEN OR HEARD ANYTHING THAT'S GONNA CHANGE WHAT THOSE MOBILITY OFFICERS ARE DOING WITH PARKING ENFORCEMENT AND OTHER ACTIVITIES.

BUT, UM, THAT IS ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY WITH MORE RESOURCES, HOW WE START TO SHIFT THOSE RESOURCES TOWARDS HIGH PRIORITY NEEDS.

I THINK IT'S ALWAYS ON THE TABLE, JUST NO DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE AS FAR AS I'M AWARE OF ANYTHING CHANGING .

SO, UH, I THINK THIS IS THE LAST SLIDE BEFORE I WRAP UP HERE.

THE, JUST WANNA MENTION THE GREAT NEWS THAT WE DID RECEIVE EARLIER THIS YEAR.

UH, HOPEFULLY Y'ALL SAW THE HEADLINES AND THE, AND THE GREAT CELEBRATION THAT HAPPENED WHEN WE WERE AWARDED 22.8 MILLION OF FEDERAL FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE ABOUT FIVE AND A HALF MILLION OF LOCAL FUNDS THROUGH THOSE COMMUNITY BONDS.

SO AGAIN, THAT COMMUNITY SUPPORT'S BEEN VITAL TO, TO LEVERAGING AND GETTING MORE FEDERAL FUNDING.

UH, WE'VE GOT A STRONG FOCUS WITHIN THAT GRANT, UH, FROM THE US DOT'S PERSPECTIVE OF REDUCING THIS FATALITY, SERIOUS INJURIES WITH PROVEN SAFETY COUNTER MANAGERS.

UM, AND THEY WANNA HAVE THIS EQUITABLE LENS TO IT AND THEY WANT US TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER THAT WITHIN FIVE YEARS OF THE GRANT AGREEMENT.

WE ARE STILL IN CONVERSATION WITH FH W A TRYING TO HAVE A KICKOFF MEETING WORKING TOWARDS A GRANT AGREEMENT.

AND SO, UM, THAT FIVE YEAR PERIOD HAS NOT STARTED YET, BUT WE'RE GONNA REFINE A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT OUR APPLICATION HAD, WHAT THEY'RE HOPING TO SEE, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALL IN AGREEMENT AND THEN START TO KICK THAT OFF HOPEFULLY WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, BE ABLE TO START, UM, GETTING SOME OF THOSE CONTRACTS AND SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS OUT THE DOOR SO YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE EXAMPLES OF WHAT THOSE PROJECTS MIGHT BE IN THAT LAST BOARD THERE.

SO REALLY, UM, HOW DO WE ACHIEVE THESE POLICY GOALS? EXCUSE ME.

WE GOTTA STEP UP AND SCALE UP THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.

WE KNOW WHAT CAN BE EFFECTIVE BASED ON THE EVALUATIONS THAT WE'VE DONE.

WE NEED TO HAVE THAT CONTINUED SUPPORT FROM POLICY MAKERS, CITY LEADERSHIP COMMUNITY REALLY SHOULD BE A PART OF THAT ADVOCATING AND PUSHING FOR THIS CHANGE.

WE NEED SAFER ROADWAY DESIGNS WITH THE GEOMETRIC CHANGES LIKE LONGHORN DAM AND THAT PLEASANT VALLEY PROJECT THAT CAN REALLY MAKE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES, UH, LIGHTING FOR ALL MODES, AND THAT'S NOT JUST STREET LIGHTING BUT UH, TRAIL LIGHTING AND PEDESTRIAN SCALE LIGHTING AND THEN THAT NARROWLY FOCUSED TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT I THINK IS A KEY PART THAT WE'VE SEEN FROM A LOT OF OTHER SUCCESSFUL KIND OF EUROPEAN SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES THAT HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT PROJECT OF PROGRESS OVER TIME.