47,000 pedestrians killed in last decade

A recent study shows that walking in the United States has become increasingly dangerous. In the last ten years, nearly 50,000 pedestrians were killed and 688,000 injured in accidents.

The study, conducted by Transportation For America (TFA), a coalition of transportation, environmental, and business groups, found that four of the top five most dangerous areas for pedestrians were located in Florida.

In a statement, the group said, “Our federal tax dollars actually go to build these streets that are designed to be perilous to children, older adults and everyone else. And yet, right now, some in Congress are considering the total elimination of funding for projects to make it safer to walk and bicycle.”

According to the report, 67 percent of pedestrian fatalities occurred on federal-aid roads, which are eligible for federal funding and have federal guidelines and oversight for their design.

For the first time, TFA plotted the data on an interactive map to provide more detailed geographic analysis of traffic accident and found that pedestrian accidents primarily occurred on busy arterial roads.

“Nationally speaking, the majority of these deaths occurred along these “arterial” roadways that are dangerous by design — streets engineered for speeding traffic with little or no provision for people on foot, in wheelchairs or on bicycles,” TFA explained.

The group is particularly concerned as funding for road-safety programs is slated to be cut.

To keep roads safe, TFA argues that lawmakers should not eliminate existing funding, which amounts to less than 1.5 percent of current federal transportation spending.

Shortly after the report was released, the Senate introduced the Complete Streets Act of 2011 which proposes making streets safer for pedestrians and bikers.