Raleigh-Cary ranks No. 6 in pedestrian danger

RALEIGH -- Fast growth and fast traffic have helped make the Raleigh-Cary area the nation's sixth most dangerous urban place for walking, according to a study released Monday.

Transportation for America, a coalition of Washington advocacy groups, said Congress should force states to build streets that are safer for pedestrians and cyclists and make safety upgrades for older, dangerous roads.

"There are almost 5,000 Americans who die every year as pedestrians, ... the equivalent of almost one jumbo jet going down every month," Anne Canby of the Washington-based Surface Transportation Policy Partnership said in a telephone conference with reporters. "And if that happened, there would be outrage."

Local officials said Raleigh is improving pedestrian safety with a stepped-up program to fill gaps in its sidewalk network. The city also is transforming Hillsborough Street, once one of North Carolina's worst pedestrian danger zones, into a foot-friendly haven with wide sidewalks and roundabouts to calm automobile traffic.

Sprawling Southern and Western cities dominated the national danger rankings published in the Transportation for America report, "Dangerous by Design." Four Florida cities, starting with Orlando, topped the list.

In the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area, with almost 1.1 million residents, 43 pedestrians died in traffic accidents in 2007 and 2008, the report said.

When the local death rate was adjusted to account for a low pedestrian traffic volume - measured in the 1.6percent of commuters who walk to work - the Raleigh-Cary area received a worse pedestrian danger rating than all but five of the nation's largest 52 metropolitan areas.

Suburbs built around the automobile were judged more hazardous for folks on foot than older, denser cities first designed for horses, buggies and streetcars.

"It's not a coincidence that it's been [worst] in high-growth places," Geoff Anderson, co-chairman of Transportation for America, told reporters. "The way we have built our communities in the last 20 or 30 years has not focused much on pedestrians and bicycles as a mode of transportation."

Eric Lamb, Raleigh transportation services manager, said he could not verify the statistics that cast the Raleigh-Cary area in such a bad light. When Transportation for America published a similar ranking in 2004, Raleigh was classified by the federal government as part of the entire Triangle and ranked 23rd in pedestrian danger.

In the last three years, Lamb said, the city has doubled its spending plans for sidewalks. Contracts were awarded recently to fill in missing sidewalks on Capital Boulevard in the Mini City area and on other busy streets, including New Bern Avenue and Millbrook and Creedmoor roads.

Changes ahead

Raleigh's new comprehensive plan will give a higher priority than in the past for crosswalks, sidewalks and other facilities that serve the needs of cyclists and pedestrians, Lamb said.

Nina Szlosberg of Raleigh, a member of the state Board of Transportation, said Raleigh's $9.9 million Hillsborough streetscape project is a showcase for a new philosophy aimed at making streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists. It will include wider sidewalks, roundabouts to slow automobile traffic, and wider traffic lanes with room for cars and bikes to go side by side.

'Complete streets'

At Szlosberg's urging, the state Board of Transportation this summer adopted a "complete streets" policy that will elevate the interests of pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders in planning for road projects that - in the past - were designed only to keep automobiles moving.

The new state policy will not require sidewalks, crossing signals or bike lanes for all highway projects, but it is expected to increase the state's use of such features.

"And if we design our streets well, in a 'complete streets' way, the number of accidents involving pedestrians will go down," Szlosberg said.

Latest Comment View all comments

Images