Understanding the intersection of transportation safety and quality of life: Insights from community surveys in Austin, Texas

Abstract

Improving the urban quality of life is among the key focuses of various jurisdictions. In doing so, various transportation-related projects are implemented to improve residents' lives. However, studies evaluating the link between transportation attributes and the perceived satisfaction of urban quality of life are relatively scarce. To fill this gap, this study used community survey data collected in 2018 and 2019 in Austin, Texas by using the Bayesian Networks approach. The safety perception was measured using the resident's perception of walking in their neighborhood day and night and sharing the road with other road users. Results indicate that residents who feel safe walking in their neighborhood during the daytime are more likely to be satisfied with their urban quality of life. Other key indicators are safe walking in downtown during the daytime and walking in downtown during nighttime, while feeling safe walking in their neighborhood during nighttime was the least contributor to the urban quality of life. Furthermore, income was the key factor for safety perception, while street conditions and traffic flow on major streets were the key indicators of safety perception when sharing the road with other drivers. The findings help in prioritizing transportation projects to improve residents' safety and urban quality of life.