Pedestrian Safety Becomes a National Issue

We heard this week about Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to eliminate New York City's traffic deaths within a decade. But New York isn't the only city focusing on pedestrian safety. In San Francisco, a spate of deaths in December made 2013 the worst year for pedestrians since 2007, "and refocused a spotlight on a problem that city officials for years have vowed to address," reports Victoria Colliver. And a collision this week in Los Angeles involving a vehicle carrying Mayor Eric Garcetti and a 60-year-old woman shows that even the highest authorities aren't immune from reproach.

At the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board this week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx indicated that the federal government will examine ways to address the issue. He told a "packed room" that rising levels of pedestrian and bicyclist injuries while he was mayor of Charlotte, and his own experience being struck while jogging, have led him to "focus some attention on pedestrian and bicycle safety,” reports Tanya Snyder. Perhaps Foxx will consider supporting the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act introduced in November by Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Earl Blumenauer.