Planetizen Newswire
Keep up with essential planning news and commentary, delivered to your inbox every Monday and Thursday.
Pedestrian Fatalities
Pedestrian deaths are on the rise in the United States, but cities have been slow to implement effective policies and road design measures to change the trend.
Los Angeles Times
Education, engineering, and enforcement are the three "e's" of Vision Zero in San Francisco. A lack of on of those "e's"—enforcement—might explain why more people are dying on the city's streets this year that any year since the city adopted Vision Z
The San Francisco Chronicle
These researchers call for dangerous, large-sized SUVs to be removed from the road.
Forbes
While much focus is on the future of autonomous vehicles, the increase in pedestrian deaths related to SUVs remains a largely ignored issue.
Slate
New federal legislation would establish a national complete streets program.
Streetsblog USA
Europe proves to Americans that when it comes to pedestrian fatalities, it doesn't have to be this way.
City Observatory
PBS New Hour takes a deep dive into the climbing number of pedestrian deaths in the United States—now at their highest level in almost three decades.
PBS News Hour
The city has seen a rise in car crash deaths since implementing its Vision Zero initiative. Advocates say not enough action is being taken to make streets safer.
Los Angeles Times
Seattle is working toward its Vision Zero goals, after a year in which most people killed by drivers in the city were pedestrians.
The Seattle Times
Remember Elaine Herzberg, the 49-year-old woman who became the first pedestrian fatality due to an autonomous vehicle when she was hit last March by an Uber with a safety driver in Tempe, Ariz.? Prosecutors found no criminal liability.
The New York Times
Among the factors that stand out in the "Spotlight on Highway Safety" report released Thursday by the Governors Highway Safety Association is increased "death by SUV," which kill at a higher rate than cars. Distraction, however, is hard to prove.
USA Today
The mayor wants to implement a series of measures to eliminate traffic fatalities and make city streets safer for pedestrians.
Cincinnati CityBeat
A 2015 NHTSA report showed that pedestrians were multiple times more likely to die if struck by SUVs, but that information was neither shared nor acted upon.
The Detroit Free Press
The Pennsylvania Senate Transit Committee approved a bill to allow for photo enforcement to catch drivers making illegal passes that could endanger children in front of school buses.
Trib Live
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a study on May 8 that attributes the increased number of pedestrians killed in part to road design that allows for higher speeds, fewer intersections and pedestrian crossings and more SUVs.
The Washington Post
Over 2,000 people died from hit-and-run collisions on American roads in 2016, the highest since 2009, claiming a disproportionate amount of pedestrian and cyclist lives. One solution: more protected bike lanes.
CBS This Morning
A van driver apparently deliberately mowed down pedestrians on sidewalks and intersections in the North York area of Toronto on Monday. The suspect is in custody. The incident is reminiscent of a similar scene last May in Times Square, Manhattan.
CNN
Florida’s incremental steps toward complete streets have saved thousands of lives, but still left it one of the most dangerous states to walk in.
Streetsblog USA
Autonomous vehicles hold the potential to greatly reduce auto crashes. Advocates want them on the road as early as possible to reduce fatalities. Skeptics worry that the public will be guinea pigs during the testing—case in point: Elaine Herzberg.
San Francisco Chronicle
A study by Zendrive examines how many U.S. drivers can't put down their phones.
Bloomberg
