Pedestrian Safety Declines in Many Virginia Metro Areas

The Richmond-Petersburg region had the 2nd highest increase among large metro areas in the U.S. in the rate of pedestrian danger over the past ten years, according to a national report released today. The region ranks the 27th most dangerous area for pedestrians in the country,.

The Bristol, Roanoke, and Danville areas also had significant jumps in the rate of danger to their pedestrians, and there was a slight increase in Northern Virginia and the rest of the Washington-Baltimore metro area, according to the report released by SELC, the Surface Transportation Policy Project and others. The rate of danger is highest in Bristol and Richmond, although the highest percentage of traffic deaths that were pedestrians was in the Northern Virginia-D.C. region.

The full report and state fact sheets can be found at www.transact.org

Over 9% of traffic deaths in Virginia in recent years were pedestrians, yet the state spent less of the federal transportation funds it received on pedestrian and bicycle facilities and safety than almost any other state, the report found. Virginia spent only .5% of the federal transportation funds it received on pedestrian and bicycle projects in recent years, an average of only 48 cents per person.

“Our transportation policies can have deadly consequences,” said Trip Pollard, Director of SELC’s Land and Community Project. “We are not doing nearly enough to protect children, senior citizens, and everyone else who walks.”

There are some positive trends. The rate of danger to pedestrians dropped by 6% in the Lynchburg area over the last ten years, and by over 13% in Hampton Roads. The rate of danger dropped the most in the Charlottesville area—declining by 17.5%—the area where the highest level of federal funding was spent on pedestrian and bicycle facilities in recent years.

“Funding pedestrian improvements can make a significant difference in increasing safety and making walking a more attractive transportation alternative,” Pollard noted. “The state and localities need to shift more transportation funds to these projects.”

The report, Mean Streets 2004, uses federal transportation and census data to rank metropolitan areas according to their danger to people on foot. It also analyzes spending of federal transportation funds on pedestrian and bicycle safety and facilities at the state and metropolitan level.

Metro Area

Pedestrian Danger Index (2002-03)

% Change in Index (from 1994-95)

Briston--Kingsport--Johnson City (VA-TN)

116

54.8

Richmond--Petersburg

70.5

70.4

Washington--Baltimore

59.2

0.7

Lynchburg

45.6

-6

Danville

41.2

28.5

Norfolk--Virginia Beah--Newport News (VA-NC)

40.5

-13.3

Charlottesville

22.3

-17.5

The report finds that risks to pedestrians tend to be greatest in sprawling suburban areas, and wide, high-speed streets increase the dangers to pedestrians.

The report further finds that dangerous streets are discouraging people from walking and may be contributing to health problems. According to federal transportation and health surveys, the portion of Americans walking to work has dropped 25% between 1990 and 2002, while the percentage of overweight Americans has grown by 70%. The medical costs of physical inactivity have been estimated to be about $76 billion a year nationwide, and Governor Warner recently launched a Healthy Virginia campaign to promote greater exercise.

“We must do more to make our streets safer,” said Pollard. “There are many practical, affordable steps that can improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists and encourage walking and bicycling.” These steps include installing sidewalks, crosswalks, and bike lanes, establishing Safe Routes to School programs, designing newer streets to better accommodate pedestrians, and redesigning existing streets with traffic calming measures that can slow down traffic and provide convenient, safe crossings for pedestrians, he said.