Students, parents and school staff urged the Austin City Council on April 24 to delay approval of the Slaughter Lane corridor expansion until the city guarantees school‑zone lights to reduce vehicle speeds in front of Bowie High School. Council moved the item off the consent agenda and set it for postponement to May 8 at the sponsor’s request.

The request came during the consent‑agenda speaker period from several people who said the Slaughter Lane work will increase vehicle speeds and endanger students crossing the road that bisects the campus. "This project should not move forward until it guarantees an incorporation of school zone lights on Slaughter Lane," said Caitlin Britt, who identified herself as the academic director at Bowie High School in Austin ISD. Britt said the road currently splits the campus and cited past injuries to students when crossing Slaughter Lane.

Student leader Emiliano Martinez, who said he is a senior and cross‑country team captain at Bowie, told council the lack of school‑zone lighting is a life‑and‑death issue for students who travel across Slaughter for practices and events. "If this expansion moves forward without school zone lights, we're missing a crucial opportunity to protect lives," Martinez said.

Parent and booster‑club representative Jeff Grosso said his group has worked with city transportation staff to secure several safety improvements, including signage, adjusted signal timing, improved crosswalks and guardrails adjacent to athletic fields. But Grosso said the expansion plan still leaves a 45 mph posted speed limit in place and asked that the council require a school‑zone speed reduction to 30 mph. "Scientific studies show pedestrian versus vehicle fatalities drop by 50% if we just drop speeds to that degree," Grosso said.

Council members acknowledged the speakers and public safety concerns. The mayor read a changes/corrections item earlier in the meeting that item 11 (Slaughter Lane corridor expansion) would be postponed at Council Member Paige Ellis’s request; the consent agenda vote later adopted the postponement and passed the rest of the consent agenda as amended. The council’s formal motion to adopt the consent agenda (made by Council Member Natasha Harper Madison and seconded by Council Member Ellis) incorporated the postponement of item 11 to May 8.

Discussion versus decision: speakers and council referenced several technical and policy limits — including the city's standard processes for school‑zone design and state or national guidance on speed treatments — but no final technical commitments (such as funds or exact school‑zone locations) were announced during the April 24 meeting. Staff told council that some interim safety features are already planned or under study; parents and students asked that the council not approve the larger roadway expansion until a firm commitment to school‑zone lights is documented in the project plan.

Council's next step: item 11 will return to the council agenda on May 8 for further consideration and vote. The speakers said they will continue to work with Council Member Ellis's office, AISD and Transportation staff between meetings.

Ending: With the postponement, council preserved time to consider the safety requests and asked staff and the parties involved to continue the coordination ahead of the May 8 hearing.