Pedestrian deaths in car-centric cities are preventable with the right safety measures.
A deadly car accident spurred a TikToker to share how deadly car-centric cities can be. The Happy Urbanist (@jonjon.mp4) warned viewers that "a family of three was hit by a car here. … The police mentioned jaywalking as one of the main causes for how pedestrians die in these situations, even though these pedestrians were where they were supposed to be."
@jonjon.mp4 DM me to get involved in this. I need your help. ##urbanism##urbandesign##citydesign##pedestriansafety##pedestriandesign##strongtowns##pedestriandignity ♬ original sound - The Happy Urbanist
The Happy Urbanist cited some statistics regarding pedestrian safety throughout the video, such as that "we're at a 40-year high for pedestrian deaths" in the United States, which is backed up by a Smart Growth America report shared by The Nation's Health.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "in 2022, 7,522 pedestrians were killed and more than 67,000 pedestrians were injured nationwide."
Car-centric cities are often antipedestrian — they're not designed with pedestrians in mind and, as a result, are inconvenient or unsafe to walk in.
Many cities have sidewalks in poor condition, if they exist at all, and crosswalks can still prove deadly.
Investing in walkability is investing in pedestrian safety. Wide, labeled crosswalks, as well as kept-up sidewalks and designated bike lanes, keep pedestrians, drivers, and bikers safe.
Additionally, making cities and neighborhoods walkable can reduce carbon emissions from transportation, boost the local economy, and even lower the risk of certain diseases for pedestrians, according to one study.
Want to find out how walkable your city is? Input your ZIP code into Walk Score and find out what percentage of your town's sidewalks are good, poor, or downright unusable.
Commenters on the video were disappointed but not surprised.
"We've created a society that is far too centered around cars," one user said.
Another commenter said it is "so sinister that the reporting insinuates that the accident was the pedestrians' fault."
"Society is too centered around cars and has been too long. I want that changed," a third said.
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