December 18, 2019 – CBSAustin News – This year 85 people have been killed on Austin roads and 2019 is not yet over. More friends and family members are dying despite city council having a goal to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. In May of 2016 Austin City Council adopted the Vision Zero Action Plan. City leaders put in writing the goal to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. Initially traffic deaths declined from 102 in 2015 to 79 lives lost in 2016, 76 deaths in 2017 and 74 people killed in 2018. However, so far in 2019 85 people have died– an increase of nearly 15 percent compared to last year.
“Do you feel like what we’re doing is working?” CBS Austin asked Austin Mayor Steve Adler. “I think it’s working because I think we’d have more people dying and more people injured today without the plan than we have with the plan,” Adler says.
“He was a gentleman. He was an outdoors guy and he was most of all a classical ballet dancer,” Anna Bauereis says of her son Alexei. He started dancing at age five and Ballet Austin was his second home. After overcoming middle school bullying, Anna says her son was a supporter, encourager and a wonderful friend. “Don’t get me wrong. He was a 14-year-old boy though and he had all of the 14-year-old boy things,” she says with a laugh. “But as a person he was just phenomenal. He really cared about our community and the people in it,” Bauereis says. In June of 2016, Alexei was walking a friend home when he was hit and killed in the crosswalk on Spicewood Springs Road at Rustic Rock Drive. Since her son’s death 281 more people have died on Austin streets.
“From a parent perspective who lost a child… there is not enough money spent on this and there is not enough attention given to this and there needs to be that priority,” she says.
In September 2019 Adler and the city council adopted a $4.2 billion budget which includes:
- More than $60 Million to end homelessness
- More than $40 Million for affordable housing
- Nearly $13 Million for the parks and rec aquatics program
- $2.5 Million for the Vision Zero plan to end traffic deaths
“Do you feel like we are allocating an adequate amount of time and money to the subject of traffic deaths?” CBS Austin asked. “You know, the answer to that is no. We’re not putting an adequate enough money against virtually any of the most serious challenges we have in this city,” says Adler. He points to other spending that isn’t specifically earmarked for Vision Zero in the budget but still works toward the goal of making streets safer– like the 2016 voter-approved Mobility Bond that includes safety improvements for dangerous intersections.
“It is a priority. There are a lot of priorities. I wish we could do more against them all,” Adler says. The city’s transportation department stopped short of saying eliminating traffic deaths in the next five years can’t be done.
“The goals far outweigh what the investment’s been so far,” says transportation safety officer Lewis Leff. Next year the Austin Transportation Department plans to spend $1.1M to reimburse police for additional safety programs like increased DWI enforcement and for the first time Vision Zero will have three full-time staff members.
“Reaching a goal of zero is ambitious, but it’s the only morally acceptable goal that we have for our program. That’s always going to be our goal and whether or not we reach it this year, in five years or in 10 years we need to work towards that,” explains Leff. In five or ten years hundreds more Austinites will die in traffic crashes. A total of 416 people have died in Austin crashes in the last four years.
“Vision Zero needs to be in place. More money needs to be put there. I understand that they’re doing the best they think they can, but unfortunately what may happen is one of their family members dies and something will get done,” Bauereis says.
In the three years since Alexei’s death Bauereis has turned anguish into advocacy — pushing for safer street design and technological investments to combat drunk and distracted driving. It’s a plan she’s taking to Washington D.C. next year as a Texas representative for Families for Safe Streets.
“Do you ever wonder what your son would think about everything you’re doing?” we asked Bauereis. “I don’t think he would be surprised,” she says. After all, she’s serving her community and leaving a mark– just like Alexei did during the short time he was with her. “We’re just proud parents and he would definitely not be surprised,” Bauereis says.
