Austin students, parents press council to require school-zone lights on Slaughter Lane; item postponed

A group of students, school staff and parents urged the Austin City Council on April 24 to delay approval of the Slaughter Lane corridor expansion until the project includes school‑zone lights for the high school that straddles the road.

Caitlin Britt, academic director at James Bowie High School, told council the project should "not move forward until it guarantees an incorporation of school zone lights on Slaughter Lane." Britt said she has worked at the school for 11 years and called out a spike in traffic and serious pedestrian injuries since 2018, including a 2018 incident in which "3 students were tragically hit on Slaughter Lane." She said expansion of the road from four to six lanes makes traffic calming essential.

Student leaders also spoke. Emiliano Martinez, a senior and cross‑country captain, said the expansion without school lights would be "a life or death situation" for students forced to cross the road for practices and daily travel. Parent and booster‑club leader Jeff Grosso described roughly "3,000 crossings of Slaughter Lane per school year" and urged a speed reduction from 45 to 30 mph in a school zone, saying pedestrian fatality risk falls about 50% at the lower speed.

Why it matters: Council members and staff generally signaled they take safety concerns seriously. The mayor read changes and corrections into the record at the start of the meeting that included postponing item 11 (the Slaughter Lane item) to May 8, 2025; the consent agenda that included that postponement was later adopted without objection. Councilmember Ellis had requested the postponement.

Council action and next steps: Item 11 was recorded as postponed to 2025‑05‑08. Council and staff said they will continue to work with the school, transportation engineering and Safe Routes staff on pedestrian signal timing, signage and other treatments while the project proceeds through the city process. Parents and students said they want a written assurance that school‑zone lights will be incorporated before final project approval.

Community context: Speakers noted that other nearby schools already have city‑installed school‑zone lights and argued that Bowie/Buie High School is distinct because Slaughter Lane divides the campus and adjacent athletic fields. City staff and council members did not promise immediate installation during the meeting, but allowed extra time to pursue the specific request and coordinate engineering and state standards that govern school‑zone criteria.

What to watch: Staff and council indicated follow‑up with the school, including adjustments to leading pedestrian intervals, signage and a guardrail near the sports fields; parents asked the council to make the addition of a school zone an explicit condition of the project before final approval.