Dive Brief:
- Although overall pedestrian deaths in the U.S. have declined in recent years, fatalities in the nation’s largest cities remain well above the number of deaths in 2009, according to a report released Tuesday by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition.
- The report compared average pedestrian fatalities in each city from 2020 to 2024 with the 2015-2019 period. Of the 101 largest metropolitan areas studied, 18 saw decreased pedestrian fatality rates, seven held steady and 76 worsened, based on average pedestrian death rates per 100,000 people.
- “We saw a dip in fatalities from a historic high,” Smart Growth America President and CEO Beth Osborne said during a media briefing Tuesday. “This is a reversion to the mean. This is not worth celebrating.”
Dive Insight:
Pedestrian fatalities have increased 72% since 2009, but Congress and the Trump administration appear ready to defund or deemphasize safety programs. “We are seeing language out of the administration saying that infrastructure for bicyclists and pedestrian safety is not a priority,” Osborne said.
The Trump administration rescinded bike and pedestrian infrastructure funding implemented under the 2021 infrastructure law, Stateline reported in March. The BUILD America 250 Act, which passed the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on May 17, cut the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program, which provided funding for trails, pedestrian facilities and bikeways, according to an analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Osborne said the bill maintains the Safe Streets and Roads for All program and is “setting up a system where there is a small program to create safe streets.”
The top five deadliest urban areas for pedestrians are all in the nation’s sun belt: Memphis, Tennessee; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Bakersfield-Delano, California; Tucson, Arizona and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“The places most dangerous for people walking are those predominantly found in the southern part of the country, those places that have been developed after the introduction of the personally owned automobile,” SGA Director of Thriving Communities Heidi Simon said during the briefing.
Memphis had an annual average pedestrian death rate of 5.5 per 100,000 people, the highest fatality rate ever recorded in the studies, which began in 2009. New Mexico had the highest state rate, with a pedestrian fatality rate of 4.42 deaths per 100,000 residents.
Pedestrian fatality rates are higher for some people than others, the report found. Compared to the average death rate of 2.15 per 100,000 people, Black or African American people are killed at 1.7 times the national average. The report also found that the U.S. has the highest pedestrian death rate among an average of 34 peer countries.
“This is a uniquely American problem,” Osborne said. “If you ask most of our transportation leaders, the only thing they're trying to solve for is congestion and not safety.”
