Where are the Most Dangerous Cities for Walking?

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Where are the Most Dangerous Cities for Walking?

by brian » Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:16 am

Q: Where are the most dangerous cities for walking?
A: From a study from Transportation for America(*see below) entitled Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths (and Making Great Neighborhoods): In the last 15 years, more than 76,000 Americans have been killed while crossing or walking along a street in their community. More than 43,000 Americans – including 3,906 children under 16 – have been killed this decade alone. This is the equivalent of a jumbo jet going down roughly every month, yet it receives nothing like the kind of attention that would surely follow such a disaster.
Children, the elderly, and ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in this figure, but people of all ages and all walks of life have been struck down in the simple act of walking. These deaths typically are labeled “accidents,” and attributed to error on the part of motorist or pedestrian. In fact, however, an overwhelming proportion share a similar factor: They occurred along roadways that were dangerous by design, streets that were engineered for speeding cars and made little or no provision for people on foot, in wheelchairs or on a bicycle.
While it is still unnecessarily dangerous for pedestrians to walk, health experts are making the case that it can be just as deadly not to walk. Even as these preventable deaths mount, there has been a growing recognition that walking and bicycling – what many now refer to as “active transportation” – are critical to increasing levels of healthy exercise and reducing obesity and heart disease.
The Most Dangerous Cities for Walking
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See the Full Report on the T4America site.
*NOTE:WHO IS TRANSPORTATIOn FOR AMERICA? Transportation for America "is made up of a growing and diverse coalition from diverse interests: Real estate, housing, environmental, public health, business, transportation and equitable development. We are focused on creating a national transportation program that will take America into the 21st century by modernizing our infrastructure and building healthy communities where all people can live, work and play."
From Special Interests influence transportation bill:The road lobby has not gone unchallenged, however. Rail advocates have their own coalitions — most recently OneRail, which includes six organizations with an impressive array of 55 lobbyists on the payroll. And recently, several activist groups have also increased their influence — focusing on fixing America’s infrastructure first before adding capacity, reducing transportation’s impact on the climate, and improving the public’s access to travel options. Leading the charge is Transportation for America, or “T4America”, the self-described “outsider public-interest coalition.” T4America represents more than 90 national and 225 state and local groups, and traces its lineage to groups that won reforms in the 1991 bill. T4America’s national grassroots campaign and Washington presence is “not to be underestimated” says one lobbyist who does not see eye-to-eye with the group.
In addition to its own lobbyists, T4America’s members include 21 organizations paying 45 lobbyists, including the National Association of Realtors and AARP, which together have spent $18.9 million lobbying Congress this year on everything from health care reform to homeowner tax credits. T4America also works closely with groups like the Urban Land Institute, Smart Growth America, and Building America’s Future.

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