Enhancements    

SAFETY ROADMAPS IN EL PASO: A DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO SAFEGUARD VULNERABLE ROAD USERS AMIDST URBAN GROWTH AND INCREASING TRAFFIC

SAFETY ROADMAPS IN EL PASO: A DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO SAFEGUARD VULNERABLE ROAD USERS AMIDST URBAN GROWTH AND INCREASING TRAFFIC
PI: Shian Wang
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Amount awarded: $663,376

El Paso, Texas, serves as a major North American trade hub and one of the largest land ports in the United States, handling more than 12 million vehicles and over 7 million pedestrians each year. That scale of cross-border movement brings economic value, but it also creates serious traffic safety risks. Between 2017 and 2021, El Paso recorded 335 fatalities and 649 serious injuries, placing it among the nation’s most deadly metropolitan areas for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. With a 2020 population of 678,815, this equates to roughly 9.9 fatalities and 19.1 serious injuries per 100,000 residents each year. Vulnerable road users are most at risk. Pedestrians accounted for only 3.78% of all crashes in 2020, yet 21% of crashes resulted in death or serious injury, and about 70% of serious crashes involved walking or biking. Safety outcomes also reflect significant inequities, with 37% of serious crashes occurring in high-poverty areas that comprise 73% of the high-injury network for pedestrians and cyclists. This project advances a data-driven safety action plan to support targeted, effective, and equitable interventions that reduce severe crashes and move El Paso closer to Vision Zero.

Posting date: Mon, 01/26/2026

Award start date: Wed, 10/01/2025
Award end date: Sat, 09/30/2028