The City of Austin is upgrading street lighting in the West Campus area to increase the amount and quality of light as part of a plan to improve overall safety for residents and visitors.
It has also announced that more than 500 additional streetlights will be retrofitted with LED inserts by the end of 2022.
The ‘re-lamping’ process is part of a multi-year plan to increase pedestrian safety in the area following a council resolution.
West Campus neighbours the University of Texas and contains some of the densest housing concentrations in Austin. Campus safety groups have expressed concerns about crime and safety in the area, which has historically experienced a higher-than-average rate of property crime compared to the City of Austin as a whole.
The improvement schedule has prioritised locations based on the degree of lighting deficiencies identified in a lighting study, followed by locations with crime and crash history.
“The City listened to community concerns and is taking action to modernise the West Campus area to improve safety through a combination of better and more lighting, increased police patrols and ongoing support to help our homeless neighbours find housing,” said Stephanie Hayden-Howard, assistant city manager of health and environment.
