Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Travis County adopts safety targets for roads, sets interim 2035 goal and 2050 elimination objective
Summary
After public outreach and technical review, the Commissioners Court adopted a leadership commitment for the county's Safe Streets and Roads for All safety action plan: 50% reduction in roadway fatalities and serious injuries by 2035 and an eventual goal of eliminating those outcomes by 2050.
Travis County Commissioners on Tuesday adopted a formal leadership commitment to reduce and ultimately eliminate roadway fatalities and serious injuries, setting an interim target of a 50% reduction by 2035 and an ultimate goal of 100% reduction by Feb. 1, 2050.
The vote followed presentations by county planners and the consultant team on the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) planning process, crash trends and two rounds of public engagement. "The Safe Streets and Roads for All program is a federal program that provides funding to support local initiatives to prevent death and serious injury on roads and streets," said Charlie Watts, planning project manager for the county's Transportation and Natural Resources (TNR) department.
The vote implements the plan's required leadership-commitment element and positions the county to pursue SS4A implementation grants. The court's action authorizes the county to keep a measurable, time-bound target (50% by 2035) while retaining the aspirational objective of eliminating all roadway fatalities and serious injuries by 2050.
Why it matters: County staff and the consultant said the plan and the leadership commitment are prerequisites for applying for federal SS4A implementation funds, which can pay for construction projects and other countermeasures identified in the plan. The county's draft safety action plan contains 59 recommended project locations, 74 policy and strategy recommendations, and partner-agency profiles to help cities and special districts take local action.
What the court heard: The planning team described two rounds of public outreach (1,191 survey responses in round one and more than 200 surveys and map comments in round two) and an analysis of crash records from 2019'2023. Dan Malsam, the project's consulting manager, said the outreach showed residents were most concerned about speeding, aggressive driving and distracted driving; respondents also prioritized engineering fixes such as medians and improved signage.
Several commissioners emphasized the need for measurable steps and capacity to implement projects. Commissioner [Howard] said she wanted a clear blueprint linking investments, staff capacity and measurable outcomes'and supported setting an interim milestone that will let the county assess progress. Commissioner [Gomez] favored the more-ambitious goal supported by the project task force at an earlier meeting and said the target would guide budgeting, partnerships and grant-seeking.
The court approved the resolution unanimously.
Next steps: County staff said the draft safety action plan will be finalized for court review in April, and the county will use the adopted leadership commitment as part of applications for federal SS4A implementation grants. The plan also includes partner-specific profiles to help individual municipalities move recommendations into local budgets and projects.
