At least one of the country's largest cities has positive progress to report when it comes to reducing the number of people killed on streets.
"As of August 31, overall on-street Chicago traffic deaths were down 24 percent compared to the same time in 2018," reports John Greenfield. "There have also been far fewer bike fatalities than this time this year."
"There were 66 total on-street traffic fatalities this year by the end of August, compared to 87 by this time in 2018, and 77.2 death by this time on average between 2012 and 2016," adds Greenfield
Dave Smith, Chicago Department of Transportation bike and pedestrian Program manager, delivered the good news at a recent Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council meeting.
Greenfield isn't willing to credit Chicago's Vision Zero program for the year's lower fatality numbers, the good news still stands out as an outlier when compared to the rising number fatalities in other large cities with stated Vision Zero goals.
FULL STORY: Chicago on-street traffic fatalities are down 24% overall compared to 2018
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New data released Dec. 19 by NHTSA shows increased safety for those traveling by car, but pedestrian fatalities are 15% higher than in 2009. Plans by San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago to increase ped safety are described by the WSJ.
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