Background

On July 18, 2024, City Council approved Resolution No. 20240718-092 to require the installation of crash-rated bollards or other similar safety barriers to prevent vehicle-into building crashes at the pedestrian entrances of medical facilities with nearby vehicular traffic. The resolution directed staff to explore:

• The feasibility of requiring safety barriers in public right-of-way areas adjacent to medical facilities to enhance pedestrian safety and prevent vehicle crashes
• Whether permit applications to expand, remodel, or upgrade existing facilities can trigger this requirement
• Incentives for existing facilities to voluntarily comply
• Recommendations for the City's state and federal legislative agenda
• Any other necessary changes that achieve the objectives of this resolution.

Staff was also directed to engage with stakeholders, including medical facility operators, with the goal of bringing about compliance with any new requirements City Council adopts. 

Summary of Proposed Amendments

The proposed amendment will: 

• Amend City Code 25-6-1 (Definitions) to add new definitions for “medical facility” and “pedestrian entrance” and to renumber the remaining uses accordingly: 7) Medical Facility means a building or structure where the primary purpose is for: (a) hospital services (general); or (b) hospital services (limited); or (c) medical offices, if the building or structure is a walk-in clinic being used for the consultation, diagnosis, therapeutic, preventative, or medical care for minor illnesses and injuries; and (9) Pedestrian Entrance means a functional entrance or door that is publicly accessible and designed for pedestrian use. 
• Create a new section of City Code (25-6-324 Pedestrian Safety Barrier for Medical Facilities) to describe requirements that apply to the new definitions, including that the code: 
  • Applies to all new construction of pedestrian entrances on construction that meets the definition of a medical facility;
  • Refers applicants to technical guidance in Transportation Criteria Manual, to be posted in a subsequent rule; and
  • Allows for alternative compliance if designed in a manner that mitigates the risk of vehicular crashes into the pedestrian entrance. 

Case Manager Contact

Curtis Beaty, Transportation and Public Works Department, curtis.beaty@austintexas.gov.