AUSTIN, Texas — As Central Texas booms, traffic is growing too, and it's causing some concern for local law enforcement who enforce the rules of the road.
Some Travis County constables are expanding their focus to help meet the demand for traffic enforcement.
A Travis County constable's primary duties involve processing and executing civil process from various courts, including forcible entry and detainers, evictions, citations and executions issues from the justice of the peace courts. As peace officers, they also have the ability to conduct traffic stops.
Pct. 2 Constable Adan Ballesteros told KVUE his office has received a growing number of complaints and concerns from the community regarding traffic issues, specifically speeding.
"Speeding and accidents because of that. Running stop signs, not stopping at the traffic lights, speeding up when the traffic light turns yellow, trying to beat it, those types of things," said Ballesteros.
In a growing number of cases, those drivers are speeding 20-30 mph above the speed limit, according to Ballesteros. The constable said he has seen this leading to too many accidents in his jurisdiction.
The Travis County Sheriff's Office (TCSO) Traffic Unit provides primary traffic enforcement for the county. According to a representative, that department is fully staffed with 26 staff members and managing the levels of traffic the county is experiencing.
As a result of a TSCO staffing study, during the commissioner's court meeting on Tuesday, county leaders also approved the funding of 17 additional deputies to join the department for the 2022 fiscal year.
Two of those deputies will join the Traffic Unit to help manage the growing number of drivers on county roads.
Some officials said the DPS's efforts at the border have placed more responsibility on local law enforcement to enforce state roads.
"That does have an effect on traffic enforcement here in Travis County," said Major Craig Smith, TSCO, during the August budget hearing.
Both Ballesteros and Pct. 3 Constable Stacy Suits requested additional funds in Fiscal Year 2022 to provide additional funding for deputy staffing. This would help proactively stop traffic incidents by having more enforcement on the roads.
When a constable does respond to a traffic incident, Suits explained they assist until TSCO or the Austin Police Department arrives on scene. At that point, a constable turns the scene over to those departments and provides assistance in whatever capacity is needed.
While the constable staffing requests were not fulfilled for the next budget, Commissioner Brigid Shea said the court also directed the Planning and Budget Office to convene a working group of constables, sheriffs, APD and DPS to address the need for more traffic enforcement.
This comes as the APD navigates a staffing crisis, including moving officers away from specialized traffic units back to patrol to help address 911 calls.
The APD explained they have not asked outside departments for traffic assistance as they navigate this staffing shortage.
The city is on track to surpass its record of traffic-related deaths this year. In 2021, the APD has responded to 85 fatal crashes and 91 fatalities. Last year at this time, there were 63 fatal crashes resulting in 68 fatalities. Austin's record was recorded in 2015 when 102 people died on Austin roads, according to the APD.
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