Dangerous By Design: Streets Are Only Getting Less Safe for Pedestrians

"[T]he number of people struck and killed while walking has grown a startling 35 percent since 2008," according to Laura Bliss, who shares news of the most recent version of the "Dangerous By Design" report for CityLab.

The report cites numerous reasons for the increase in pedestrian fatalities, but singles out one factor in particular: "overly wide arterials that give too much space to cars and too little to humans." 

"High-speed, multi-lane avenues that underpin sprawling urban growth, as opposed to slower, narrower streets that support walkable neighborhoods, are 'consistently linked ... to higher rates of both traffic-related deaths for people walking and traffic-related deaths overall,'" writes Bliss, quoting the report's words directly.