What Happened?
Despite stronger consideration for pedestrian safety in recent urban planning initiatives, fatalities remained high in 2014. Therefore, many cities are launching programs dedicated to reducing pedestrian deaths and injuries as more cities make walkability a top priority.
The Figures
The Governors Highway Safety Association released a report that broke down the number of pedestrian fatalities state-by-state in 2014. According to the report, the number of pedestrian fatalities across the country last year remains about the same as was reported in 2013, while up 15 percent from 2009. While there was no significant increase year-over-year, the research suggests cities can be doing more to get that number down in the future.
The states with the most pedestrian fatalities are large-population states with bustling urban centers. For example, California, Florida, Texas and New York accounted for 43 percent of all pedestrian deaths in 2013, while 45 percent of motor vehicle deaths in the District of Columbia are pedestrians.
Between the first six months of 2013 and the same period in 2014, 24 states and the District of Columbia reported a decrease in pedestrian fatalities, five remained the same and 16 states had nine or fewer deaths. While pedestrian fatalities involving elderly and children declined, there was a 28 percent increase in deaths involving individuals ages 20 to 69 that must be addressed.
Setting a Goal
The first step to lowering pedestrian fatalities is for a municipality to identify the problem and set an aggressive goal to increase safety through planning and new policy deployment. Portland’s Bureau of Transportation, for example, recently set a safety goal to end all traffic fatalities in the next decade through collaborative efforts across city agencies, OPB reported.
Designing a Plan
Portland released a 2-year work plan that incorporates the zero fatalities goal into a five-point strategy:
- Preserve and maintain existing infrastructure
- Embrace a vision zero safety goal
- Develop new urban designs that fosters a safer community
- Effectively manage city assets
- Focus on sustainable development for optimal public health and long-term success
An average of 37 Portland residents die in traffic collisions annually. To remedy this, the city wants to repurpose streets so they are more pedestrian friendly, protect residents that are most vulnerable to death or injury, and create outreach campaigns to educate residents on transit safety.
Furthermore, Portland wants to enforce safe behavior on and near roadways to ensure both pedestrians and motorists are aware of their surroundings. This initiative is in line with a new bill proposed by Oregon lawmakers that calls for a $250 fine for bicyclists caught without reflective gear on while biking in traffic. The goal is to keep all residents on and near the road accountable for making safe choices.
Investing in Innovation
In densely urban environments, the line between street and sidewalk can get blurry and dangerous. In New York City, more than 200 city trucks will be retrofitted with guards to prevent pedestrians from falling under a vehicle if they slip or are hit. Part of the city’s Vision Zero strategy, the guards will be placed between the front and rear wheels of vehicles such as garbage trucks, New York Daily News reported.
San Antonio is seeking to prevent 50 pedestrian and cyclist deaths annually by investing in better signs and continued street improvements throughout the city. San Antonio is considering reducing speed limits in residential areas from 30 mph to 25 mph, as well as improving lighting as 100 percent of deaths in 2014 were after 7pm. The city’s Transportation and Capital Improvements department has hired new staff members that will work on increasing outreach efforts to residents so they understand how to stay safe along roadways, Express News reported.
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