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	Coalition for Smarter Growth PRESS RELEASE December 2, 2004 Contacts: Laura Olsen, (202) 244-4408 Kevin McCarty, STPP, (202) 974-5138
Mean Streets Study Finds Outer Suburbs Most Dangerous Place for Pedestrians DC & Arlington named safest places for pedestrians

See the local rankings and details for each county

A new national report, Mean Streets, finds that 17% of traffic fatalities (1 in 6) in the Washington area are pedestrians, yet Maryland and Virginia are only spending ½ % of their federal transportation funds on pedestrian safety.

“The seemingly safe, everyday act of walking is ending the lives of more than 150 people in our region each year,” noted Laura Olsen, Assistant Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “All of our communities need to be safe places for people to walk.”

The report found that over half of pedestrians are killed trying to cross arterials – roads like New Hampshire Avenue, Route 1, Rockville Pike, and Waxpool Road. The report also clarifies the misperception that pedestrians are generally to blame for their own death. Federal data shows that at least 40% of pedestrian fatalities occur where no crosswalk is present, demonstrating the drastic need for safer streets and communities that are designed for all users, including pedestrians.

"The heavy mix of motor vehicles and people on foot should not be a lethal combination, and crossing the street should not be a death defying act," said Maryland Delegate Bill Bronrott (District 16, Montgomery County). "It’s time for motorists to give pedestrians a brake and time for government to invest a major infusion of funds into making our communities safe, livable and walkable."

Rankings within the Washington-Baltimore Region
For the first time, the Coalition for Smarter Growth & STPP provide a pedestrian danger index for each major city and county in the Baltimore-Washington area. The District of Columbia and Arlington County are the safest places for pedestrians while outer suburban counties, Spotsylvania County, VA & Charles County, MD top the list as the most dangerous places for walkers.

"Walking is a crucial part of how residents, workers and visitors move around our city and we are proud to be providing safe streets for pedestrians," said Dan Tanghlerini, Director of the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT). "DDOT is absolutely committed to further strengthening our safety programs and working with public and private agencies in the region, the Metropolitan Police Department and pedestrians themselves to make the District even safer for pedestrians and all who use our transportation system."

“It is not surprising that counties dominated by scattered development with wide, fast roads, few crosswalks and sidewalks that end or don’t exist at all are more dangerous for pedestrians,” noted Olsen. “The best communities for walkers, the District of Columbia, Arlington County and Baltimore City, are places that have invested in creating safe and enjoyable places to walk. The result is more walkers and safer streets.”

Arlington County Board Chairman Barbara Favola noted, “Arlington is a first-class community with a high quality of life. Enabling residents to walk to stores, schools, businesses and parks is an important part of this dynamic community.”

The report finds a direct correlation between pedestrian safety and the number of walkers. The report notes, “In what may be a vicious circle, the decline in walking can be attributed to the decline in safe, convenient and inviting places to walk, to underinvestment in safe pedestrian facilities, and to the increasing number of Americans living in places where walking is more dangerous.”

“Pedestrian improvements are being made in some communities, but safe routes to school, work, Metro and stores are still the exception, not the rule,” commented Olsen.

Recommendations
The groups are recommending that Virginia and Maryland follow the lead of other states and establish Safe Routes to School and Transit programs to provide crosswalks and sidewalks in communities, tame traffic in key areas, and ensure new streets are safe and inviting for walkers.

The Coalition is also calling on the states to increase spending on pedestrian safety, noting that Virginia and Maryland are spending only ½ % of federal transportation funds on pedestrian safety, despite 17% of traffic fatalities in the region being pedestrians. The Coalition is urging the state departments of transportation to use available federal funds to assist localities in providing crosswalks, sidewalks, and road designs that make it safe and inviting for pedestrians.

The Coalition also recommends that local governments and developers do more to create town center and main street communities with narrower, safer and integrated street networks which encourage more walking and fewer auto trips.

Olsen noted, “Everyone in this region deserves safe places to walk. In a time of growing childhood and adult obesity, safe walking routes to school, transit, work, the store and even the coffee shop improve people’s health and offer people a good travel option for short trips.”

Currently, both the Virginia and Maryland Departments of Transportation have not spent 20% of their federal transportation enhancement funds that are specifically available for pedestrian and bicycle facilities.

“The Washington area has not improved pedestrian safety in 10 years. We have built more places that are difficult and dangerous to walk and the state departments of transportation are underfunding pedestrian safety projects while creating roads that are ever more dangerous to cross,” noted Olsen.

“The Mean Streets 2004 report provides a useful yardstick for elected officials and transportation leaders to measure progress, or lack thereof, in making pedestrians and their communities safer,” said Anne Canby, president of STPP.

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The full report is available at www.transact.org. The Mean Streets study by the Surface Transportation Policy Project uses federal transportation and census data to rank areas according to their danger to walkers. It also analyzes spending of federal transportation funds on pedestrian safety and facilities at the state and metropolitan level. The Pedestrian Danger index ranks the jurisdictions based on pedestrian deaths, size and the amount people walk in each jurisdiction.

See the local rankings and details for each county

For more details on each county contact CSG staff at: 202-244-4408