Most dangerous cities for people walking to work
November 17, 2009 by Fred HosierPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, New safety statistics, Research on safety, Top-10 list, Transportation safety
PDF Do any of your employees walk to work? The group, Transportation for America, has released its ranking of the most dangerous large metropolitan areas for pedestrians.
The group calculates a Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI) for each area based on number of deaths per 100,000 residents and the percent of employees walking to work.
Here are the top 10 most dangerous areas along with their corresponding PDIs:
- Orlando-Kissimmee, FL: 221.5
- Tampa, St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL: 205.5
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL: 181.2
- Jacksonville, FL: 157.4
- Memphis, TN: 137.7
- Raleigh-Cary, NC: 128.6
- Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN: 114.8
- Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX: 112.4
- Birmingham-Hoover, AL: 110.0, and
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA: 108.3.
The three safest areas are the New York City metropolitan area, Boston and Minneapolis.
Overall, nine of the ten most dangerous metros are in the South, including the top four in Florida. Transportation for America says these areas are dominated by lower population density and vehicle-oriented development patterns.
On the other hand, metros in older northeastern and northern states did much better because they have compact development patterns.
Transportation for America is calling for more spending to cut down on pedestrian deaths, noting that walking and bicycling is becoming more popular as gas prices go up and workers turn to alternative forms of transportation.
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Tags: cities for walking, most dangerous, Transportation for America
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November 17th, 2009 at 11:08 am
I have resided in Florida for over 30 years, and have lived-in, or frequented all the areas listed in this article. The issue in Florida is the scarcity of sidewalks, throughout the state!! Only in the older areas, or the very new areas, do contiguous sidewalks exist in abundance, most are fragmented. That, and the fact that the state is rife with tourists and temporary transplants, who seem to lose their mind upon crossing the state line. During the ‘season’, the roads are akin to a bumper-car ride at a state fair. Everyone is at risk, not just pedestrians.
November 18th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Orlando is pretty bad. I have lived here 11 years and I have never driven. I use Lynx bus system. It is a good system. Unfortunately it is the drivers that are rude, distracted and see pedestrians as a nuisances not a person. There have been many times that I have almost been hit by impatient drivers at cross walks when the sign has the walking man but they don’t know the rules of the road and only care about themselves. I guess everyone has forgotten about yeilding to pedestrians. I heard it’s even worse for bicyclists! Orlando is definitley not the place for people who chose public transportation. When I saw this report in the Orlando Sentinel I was not surprised at all!!
Orlando drivers….please please by cautious, patient and concentrate on what is around you. I don’t think you could ever forgive yourself if you injure or even kill someone.
November 25th, 2009 at 10:03 am
The top 4 are all in F-L-A. That stands to reason just as Robert said, not enough sidewalks. Things were starting to improve until the most recent financial disaster. Now cities & counties really do not have enough money to continue with sidewalks. I believe that the school districts have to start chipping in with the big bucks to eliminate busing kids that live under the 2 mile walking limit. The money saved on busing (almost $1500 per student) should be able to put a pretty good dent in the concrete needed for the sidewalks.