City transportation leaders unveiled the upgrades from the yearlong redesign in East Austin on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Austin transportation leaders say major intersection upgrades are helping reduce serious crashes citywide \u2014 and they hope a newly redesigned East Austin intersection will continue that trend.<\/p>\n
This week, the City of Austin announced 2025 saw the fewest serious traffic injuries since adopting its Vision Zero safety plan in 2016.<\/p>\n
Officials credit infrastructure changes \u2014 like those within the overhaul unveiled at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Springdale Road on Wednesday with improving safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nA history of crashes <\/p>\n
According to the city, that intersection saw 77 crashes between 2019 and 2023. Four were classified as very serious, including three involving pedestrians.<\/p>\n
City leaders gathered at the site Wednesday morning to celebrate the completion of the yearlong redesign.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew that the configuration was confusing and not serving all of our citizens well,\u201d said Anna Martin, assistant director of Austin Transportation and Public Works. \u201cWe\u2019ll see an adjustment period, but it\u2019ll be safer overall in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWhat changed? <\/p>\n
The intersection previously had five signalized legs. It has now been reconfigured into four.<\/p>\n
Drivers on Heflin Lane are now required to turn right after crews removed the traffic light in that direction. The redesign also includes:<\/p>\n
A new northbound left-turn lane on Springdale RoadBus stops relocated to the far side of the signalImproved pedestrian crossingsProtected bike lane connections <\/p>\n
Some drivers praised the changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot better,\u201d one driver said.<\/p>\n
Another added the protected bike infrastructure makes a noticeable difference: \u201cYou don\u2019t have nobody crossing in front of you\u2026 They have their own little trail right here to get through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others, however, were less enthusiastic, calling the new layout confusing or inconvenient, specifically the loss of the left turn from Heflin to Springdale, the neighborhood\u2019s major north-south corridor.<\/p>\n
\nCitywide crash data <\/p>\n
Transportation and Public Works officials say similar intersection upgrades have led to double-digit percentage drops in traffic deaths and serious injuries.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the city released data showing serious crash injuries fell 28% in 2025 compared to 2024. Traffic deaths rose 2% year-over-year.<\/p>\n
However, city leaders emphasize that per capita, deadly and serious crashes declined \u2014 even as Austin\u2019s population continued to grow. The combined rate of deaths and serious injuries dropped by nearly half compared to 2022, according to city data.<\/p>\n
\nBusiness owner raises concerns <\/p>\n
At the corner of the intersection, the owner of the Graboost convenience store said the redesign has hurt his business.<\/p>\n
Sharif Prasla said a newly installed curb \u2014 about a foot high \u2014 significantly reduced his driveway access, making it harder for fuel delivery trucks to enter and for some customers, including those in wheelchairs, to access the store.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt hurt my business,\u201d Prasla said, though he agreed with the overall goal of improving safety.<\/p>\n
\nFunded by 2020 mobility bond <\/p>\n
The project was funded through Austin\u2019s 2020 mobility bond. City leaders say the work was completed on time and on budget.<\/p>\n
Officials acknowledge there may be an adjustment period for drivers but maintain the long-term goal is clear: safer streets for everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"City transportation leaders unveiled the upgrades from the yearlong redesign in East Austin on Wednesday. AUSTIN, Texas \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-180439","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-austin","8":"tag-austin","9":"tag-austin-headlines","10":"tag-austin-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}