La. records high number of pedestrian fatalities

Louisiana ranks No. 4 of 50 states studied, including Washington, D.C., for pedestrian danger, according to data released in the 2019 Dangerous by Design report published by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition. The ranking accounts for 551 pedestrian fatalities between 2008-2017 or approximately 1.84 pedestrian fatalities for every 100,000 individuals throughout the state.

Per the report, Baton Rouge ranks No. 12 out of the 100 metro areas studied for pedestrian danger. The ranking accounts for 182 pedestrian fatalities between 2008-2017 or 2.21 annual pedestrian fatalities per every 100,000 individuals in the metro area.

The New Orleans-Metairie metro area ranks No. 42 among metro areas for pedestrian danger. The ranking accounts for 257 pedestrian fatalities between 2008-2017 or approximately 2.06 annual pedestrian fatalities per every 100,000 individuals in the metro area.

The report also indicates that among motor vehicle related fatalities within the last decade: deaths among people walking increased from 11.8 to 16.1 percent; deaths among non-motorists (i.e. bicyclists) increased from 2.4 to 2.7 percent; and motorists deaths decreased from 85.8 to 81.2 percent.

Emiko Atherton, the Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, an initiative of Smart Growth America said, “No one should have to risk their life just to cross the street, yet that’s exactly what thousands of people have to do just to get around each day. The good news is that we have the tools and know-how to fix this, but until we truly prioritize the safety of the most vulnerable people who use our streets, we will continue to see this preventable epidemic continue.”

According the report, pedestrian fatalities are increasingly common among older adults, people of color and in low-income communities.

Researchers calculated “how deadly it is for people to walk in a state or metropolitan area based on the number of people struck and killed by drivers while walking, controlling for the number of people that live in that state or metro area and the number of people that walk to work.”

The full report is available at http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design.

This article originally published in the February 4, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.