Austin’s left-turn pilot program shows promising results

AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin recently released a report about a year and a half-long pilot program aimed at reducing the number of left-turn crashes. City officials say the tools used in the pilot seem to work.

Left-turn calming treatments were installed at 16 intersections across Austin as part of the city’s Vision Zero program. 

“We have some posts on a curb system and a low-profile speed cushion, which is high visibility, including at night, and they can extend to the crosswalk and also a little bit beyond,” said Michael Kiel, a program manager for Austin’s Vision Zero. “Or have a curb extension made out of white materials on the other side.”

The city adopted Vision Zero 10 years ago, aimed at eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries. 

“We’ve seen a 46% reduction in crashes involving pedestrians, as well as a 50% reduction in crashes involving pedestrians that led to injury,” Kiel said regarding the calming treatment pilot.

It involves leveraging highly visiblity posts to reduce the risk of pedestrians getting hit by a car making a left turn. It cost about $5,400 to install at each location.

“Building on our own research and that from other cities, we designed a pilot program to install low-cost treatments at intersections to reduce the speed and improve the angle that vehicles are turning left,” Kiel said.

The findings also revealed the treatments at each location saved more than $180,000 in crash costs, which includes emergency response, medical bills and other damages. Because of its success, the city may expand the treatment to other intersections.

“We find those results, as well as some video observation and engineering observation about turning behavior, very promising and encouraging to potentially use these treatments in different locations throughout the city,” Kiel said.