Country singer Ray Benson lends voice for Austin pedestrian crossing recording

AUSTIN, Texas - Busy intersections in Austin are getting a bit safer with the help of country artist Ray Benson, lead singer of Asleep at the Wheel, as he lends his voice for the city's Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS).

"We've seen over 40 people get killed on the road last year while they were walking or rolling around our network. We need to be stepping up everything we can do to make sure that people are safe," says Lewis Leff.

Lewis Leff, a safety officer with the City of Austin transportation department, says this small change will hopefully raise pedestrian safety awareness.

Instead of a computer-generated voice, you will now hear the voice of country artist Ray Benson tell you when you can safely walk or don't walk.

"This really helps the blind visually impaired community in particular, having that audible signal to say yes and safe gives them that acknowledgment of when it's safe to cross," says Leff.

Country artist Ray Benson's voice has been played in many places before, but never at pedestrian signal.

"I used to live round the corner over there off of Baylor Street when it was cheap and, it's just great to be in the old neighborhood. And now my voice will be here permanently, and that's very cool for me," says leader of Asleep at the Wheel, Ray Benson.

Benson recorded messages for 18 crossings along Lamar Boulevard, some for signals with existing accessible pedestrian signals, and some for crossings that will soon have APS added.

"We've got about 200 accessible pedestrian signals installed at this point, and we're going to be rolling out more, thankfully, with community supported bonds and a new federal grant, we'll be able to do dozens more locations in the coming years," says Leff.