Report: Smarter Development, Safe Growth Can Save Pedestrian Lives

A new study, rolled out on December 2 with the participation of APA, shows that good planning can help improve and enhance the safety of pedestrians while making development patterns more efficient and livable.

APA joined with other organizations at a press conference announcing the release of Mean Streets 2004, the Surface Transportation Policy Project's (STPP) study that ranks every major metropolitan area according to pedestrian safety. The study identifies a connection between pedestrian safety and the development pattern of a community. Without smarter development, safe growth and thoughtful planning, APA notes, our streets will continue to get meaner.

Click here to see the study

Click here for APA's news release

"All too often we are designing hazards into our streets, but good planning can address the problem," said APA Executive Director Paul Farmer, AICP. "We can plan streets and neighborhoods that serve all users — walkers, drivers and bikers alike. Inclusive, comprehensive planning is the key to achieving the safe growth citizens want."

Planners understand that streets are not just transportation connections but central to how we live, work and recreate. Farmer noted that good planning is the most comprehensive and far-reaching solution to the pedestrian safety issue. APA members help make it possible for citizens, business interests and political leaders to translate their priorities into pedestrian-friendly streets, neighborhoods and communities.

Smarter development and safe growth can help shape development patterns so they are more efficient, offer greater choice, and boost livability as well as safety. Streets can be made more accommodating to non-motorized users by retrofitting major arterials as boulevards — or restoring them if auto-oriented development has taken them over. Traffic calming measures, where appropriate, are another solution.

To achieve safer streets, states also need to fully utilize federal transportation enhancement funds. During the past 12 years, $1.69 billion of transportation enhancement funds have remained unused — that's enough money to build a sidewalk extending from New York City to Los Angeles and back again.

While 11 percent of all traffic-related deaths are pedestrians, less than one percent of transportation funds are spent to ensure safe walking environments — this amounts to just pennies per person per year for pedestrian safety projects and facilities. Better alignment of federal and state funds with local goals and needs can ensure local leaders and citizens have the money necessary to implement plans that enhance streets, foster walking and biking, and improve safety.

The study offers statistics on pedestrian safety and spending in all the states and their major metropolitan areas.

Click here for Alabama through Missouri

Click here for Montana through Wyoming

APA Executive Director Paul Farmer, AICP, was a guest speaker at the Washington, D.C., press conference annoucing release of the Mean Streets 2004 report.		In an interview after release of the Mean Streets 2004 report, APA Executive Director Paul Farmer said that making streets safer for pedestrians requires a comprehensive strategy based on good planning, safe growth, and smarter development.