How Austin's using new video technology to minimize crashes

The City of Austin's Vision Zero program is tapping into a burgeoning field of video technology to help evaluate and mitigate traffic safety concerns at city intersections.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The City of Austin's Vision Zero program is tapping into a burgeoning field of video technology to help evaluate and mitigate traffic safety concerns at city intersections.

Vision Zero staff evaluate video analytics, which can distinguish between different moving objects on roadways such as cars, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists or other parts of the city's transit system.

From there, the video analytics can evaluate real-time footage or archived video records to calculate safety risks at intersections. Those data points collected include "measures of near-misses, red light running, speeding, and other risky behaviors," city transportation officials said in a Feb. 9 report.

Experts said this can reveal more hidden safety risks, where a situation might be happening but isn't revealed through crash data analysis alone. The footage collected is then used to inform Vision Zero staff and transportation engineers about possible treatments for some of the city's high crash zones.

Based on December 2023 data, Vision Zero has collected video analytics information from 26 locations in Austin. Those sites track the level of vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians and scooters that pass through the intersection over a 24-to-48-hour period, per the report.

Safety metrics collected from these locations included the volume of speeding and red light running, the number of vehicles blocking an intersection as well as near-miss incidents.

The report evaluated two intersections in separate case studies: Bluff Springs Road and East William Cannon Drive along with North Lamar Boulevard and Morrow Street.

Bluff Springs Road and East William Cannon Drive

Bluff Springs Road and East William Cannon Drive is noted as one of the city's highest crash rate intersections. Some information collected in that case study included a high volume of pedestrians crossing mid-block along the intersection, increasing the risk of a crash involving a vehicle.

As a result, the report revealed the Austin Transportation and Public Works Department tweaked the intersection's signal timing to enhance pedestrian safety, as well as painted wider and more visible crosswalks. Other planned improvements include moving mid-block bus stops along William Cannon Drive closer to the actual intersection "to discourage mid-block pedestrian crossings."

Another issue noted at the intersection was 43 near-miss incidents where northbound, left-turning vehicles nearly collided with southbound, through-moving vehicles. As a result, crews introduced a protected left turn signal for turning traffic -- resulting in 75% fewer crashes involving left-turning vehicles, or a decrease from 83 events to 22 events.

North Lamar Boulevard and Morrow Street

After Vision Zero worked with a video analytics company on this intersection, staff introduced signal timing adjustments, new signage, updated intersection lanes and improved facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. Transportation crews wrapped up these improvements back in July 2021, while restriped pavement markings were completed in 2022.

After those upgrades, Vision Zero staff collected new video footage in February and March of 2023 to check on safety performances. The report found the number of observed near-miss incidents dropped 58%, while "high risk" events -- defined based on speeds and post-encroachment time -- decreased 62%.

Following these two case studies, Vision Zero began collaborating with researchers at the University of Texas at Austin's Center for Transportation Research to aid in defining best practices for video analytics use. Vision Zero officials added they plan to use video analytics to hone in on other safety risks with the funding coming through the $23 million Safe Streets and Roads for All grant awarded to Austin.

Using the video analytics, officials added the data will help inform other lower-cost and effective safety treatment changes, such as lighting, signal timing changes and more visible crosswalks.