Austin gets $10.5 million for pedestrian improvements

Last week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that Austin would receive $10.5 million to go toward pedestrian safety improvements. The money, which comes via Safe Streets and Roads for All grant funding, will enable the city to install almost 50 crossings through the city and develop its Living Streets Program. According to a press release from the city, “The grant will fund the implementation of proven safety countermeasures at a systemic, citywide scale to reduce fatal and serious injury crashes, especially those involving pedestrians. Crossing treatments will include a combination of rectangular rapid flashing beacons, pedestrian crossing islands, curb extensions and pedestrian hybrid beacons, as well as one critically needed grade-separated crossing of I-35.” The city will add $2.5 million in funding toward the project, dubbed “Safer Transportation Routes using Inclusive, Demonstrative and Equitable Solutions,” or STRIDES. In 2022, the city recieved $22.9 million in funding through the federal grant. “Austin’s Transportation and Public Works Department has a proven track record of reducing fatal and serious injury crashes through low-cost, effective safety projects,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in a statement to the press. “This funding will help us expand that work, making Austin streets safer for everyone who uses them, whether they’re driving, walking, cycling or rolling.”