Media service from: 23.10.2024
- 20 percent fewer accidents involving pedestrians
- But more accidents involving cyclists
The mobility department of the city of Linz and in particular traffic planning, which is responsible for traffic safety in the city, sets a wide range of priorities in order to minimize the potential danger on streets and paths as much as possible. New traffic lights, zebra crossings and numerous school route safety measures increase the safety of all road users.
The fact that traffic safety has increased in Linz is shown by the decrease in traffic accidents resulting in personal injuries. Since 2017, according to an analysis by the EPIGUS Institute for Holistic Accident and Safety Research under the direction of Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Ernst Pfleger in Linz recorded a decrease from 1,125 to 1,062 people who had accidents (minus 6 percent). Accidents involving pedestrians have decreased by more than 20 percent.
The reduction in the number of accidents was achieved despite an increase in the number of motor vehicles. Since 2017, the vehicle population in Linz has grown by at least five percent from 126,500 vehicles to 132,600.
“Road safety in Linz is at a very high level. However, every accident is one too many. The city of Linz is therefore constantly striving to find new ways to secure the streets and paths. We must pay particular attention to the safety of the weakest road users, namely children and older people,” emphasizes mobility officer, Deputy Mayor Mag. Martin Hajart.
“The key to further reducing the number of accidents lies in the bicycle strategy that I initiated and the walking master plan, which was also initiated by the mobility department and is intended to make traffic in Linz even safer. A special focus is the further reduction of accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists,” explains the Linz mobility officer about the priorities of the city of Linz. “Special programs, such as the development of school route plans initiated by the mobility department and the Blickpunkt glasses campaign, which is intended to better prepare children for traffic, complement the measures that have already been taken and those that still need to be taken,” said Hajart.
Number of people injured in road traffic in the Linz area: minus six percent
The ongoing measures to avoid accidents in road traffic in Linz are taking effect. Since 2017, the number of traffic accidents in the Upper Austrian capital has fallen by six percent from 1,125 to 1,061 people affected. The declines also apply to seriously injured and slightly injured people who were involved in accidents.
The number of accidents in the Corona years 2020 and 2021 showed a significant downward trend, in which the government lockdowns significantly contributed to reducing the volume of traffic and thus also to reducing the number of accidents on the roads.
Vehicle inventory grew by 5 percent
In the comparable period from 2017 to 2023, the vehicle population in Linz grew by around 5 percent from 126,507 vehicles to 132,602.
This increase is an expression of an increased standard of living – instead of a maximum of one vehicle per family in previous years, there are now two or more – and increased mobility needs.
Accidents involving pedestrians while sinking:
The number of pedestrians involved in accidents fell significantly, by more than 20 percent. In 2017 there were 202, in 2023 there were “only” 161. Declining trends were observed both among the children involved (decrease from 30 to 17) and among seniors (decrease from 46 to 39).
“However, the decline in children and seniors is not a reason to rest on our laurels, but rather should be an incentive to further reduce the number of accidents for these age groups. I am especially thinking about measures that, for example, make children and seniors more visible at dusk (distribution of light strips), as well as reducing the speed of private motorized traffic, especially in the area of schools. “In general, extending the speed limit of 30 km/h is also helpful where it is possible and sensible,” says Hajart, citing some possible solutions for the city of Linz’s mobility policy in the coming years.
Blickpunkt glasses campaign (including with the children from the school in the Franckviertel)
Viewpoint glasses make it possible to examine when crossing a street where exactly the person, in this case the children, is looking when they want to cross a street. For children, the difference in size often plays a role. Important visual connections can be obscured for children, which do not restrict the view of adults.
Contrary to the result for pedestrians, the number of accidents for cyclists is increasing: there were 206 accidents involving cyclists in 2017, but there were 346 accidents in 2023. This means a slight decrease compared to 2022 (352 accidents). Increases in the number of accidents have been recorded both among children who had accidents (from 16 to 33) and among seniors (from 26 to 56) who were traveling on bicycles.
“Even if the increasing number of accidents involving bicycles correlates with the increase in the share of bicycles in the total traffic volume (increase in the share of bicycles from seven to 11 percent in the comparison of the 2012 and 2022 traffic counts), special recommendations for action for the city are derived from this: on the one hand, it applies through the “To expand and secure the cycle path network as part of our L_nz FAHR_RAD strategy and, on the other hand, to improve road safety for cyclists in Linz as part of special programs for children and seniors,” says Hajart.
The overall positive development in the number of accidents is primarily due to the continuous expansion of transport facilities. The city of Linz would like to build on the successes achieved and consolidate and raise the high standard of traffic safety. In addition to expanding the “hardware” – i.e. optimizing the transport infrastructure – a key function is played by awareness-raising measures.
Additional traffic lights, better lighting
In addition to modified traffic lights with the latest technology, which, for example, react to the approach of pedestrians, Linz wants to make cycle and pedestrian paths objectively safer, especially through improved lighting. 2024 is a crucial year for this. 1,450,000 euros are earmarked for this, which is more than three times as much as in 2023. This expenditure is also worthwhile in terms of energy savings through state-of-the-art LED lighting technology and in improving the subjective sense of security.
Furthermore, sufficient green phases at the traffic lights, lowering of sidewalks, central islands as crossing aids and the user-friendly design of stops are among the ongoing and planned improvement measures throughout the city. Likewise, where this is structurally possible and sensible, reducing crossing lengths for pedestrians at busy intersections is one of the current and future goals.
Additional protection routes
A new protective path was recently implemented near a school at the intersection of Markartstrasse and Grillparzerstrasse. Another protective route will soon be implemented in Urfahr at the intersection of Knabenseminarstraße/Petrinumstraße.
Another measure to improve safety for pedestrians is to color protective paths with a red frame. The improved contrast and the eye-catching color on the ground contribute to better visibility for road users. The protective path is therefore visible from a further distance. More and more urban protective routes, especially school routes, are being made safer. There are currently around 20 of these colorful “zebra crossings”. Red and white protective paths can be found, for example, at the intersection of Schillerstraße/Südtirolerstraße in the immediate vicinity of an elementary school or on Khevenhüllerstraße.
Traffic education and 160 student pilots
Other measures to improve traffic safety on the way to school include traffic education at schools and the recruitment of student pilots. Around 160 student guides are regularly on duty in Linz when school starts. These are primarily provided voluntarily by secondary school students, but there are also community service volunteers as student pilots and locations where parents and grandparents get involved in student pilot work. The police also support these measures with their own staff.
Creation of school route plans
Knowing danger spots is the key to a safe route to school. The mobility department of the city of Linz is therefore initiating the implementation of school route plans for the 40 public and six private primary schools. After a first stage of drawing up plans for the safest routes to six Linz school locations, the Linz City Senate decided at its meeting on August 19, 2024 to include a further six elementary schools in this campaign. In the coming years, all 40 eligible locations will be gradually covered.
In cooperation with experts from the Board of Trustees for Road Safety (KfV) and the General Accident Insurance Institute AUVA, the surroundings of the primary schools are closely examined and danger spots are identified and mapped. The school route plans are then on the website schulwegplan.at available and form an annually updated basis for the children themselves as well as for parents and teaching staff so that they know the best routes and possible danger spots in the area around the school. For this purpose, critical points are evaluated and concrete recommendations for action are given. In advance of these measures or to determine needs, accident analyzes were or are being carried out in the area around schools.
Accident analyzes in the school environment
The city carefully examines accident hotspots every year and implements adjustments to improve safety. Municipalities are obliged to do this. In addition to the school route plans, a traffic safety office has now once again examined all accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists near all elementary schools in Linz. Three of the selected schools, where several accidents have occurred in recent years but are not yet counted as accident clusters, are being developed redesign measures that will improve traffic safety in the elementary school environment.
Cycling perfection tests
When improving traffic safety for cyclists, the focus is not only on improving the cycling infrastructure, for example through the structural separation of sidewalks and cycle paths (e.g. Lederergasse), but also on training programs for young people. This is intended to make it easier for them to enter the “cycling worlds” of the city of Linz and – in the true sense of the word – to instill appropriate safe behavior for their future life “from an early age”.
An important point here are the regular cycling perfection tests, which are successfully completed by up to 1,500 students every year.
(Information document for the press conference with Mobility Officer Deputy Mayor Mag. Martin Hajart and University Prof. Dipl. Ing. Dr. Ernst Pfleger from the EPIGUS Institute for Holistic Accident and Safety Research)
