Raleigh-Cary Area Dangerous for Pedestrians

The Raleigh-Cary metro area recently earned a new distinction - not only is it the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country, but now it's been ranked the sixth most dangerous area in the country for pedestrians, according to a new report issued by Transportation for America.

The rankings were developed using an index based on the number of pedestrian fatalities relative to the average amount of walking that residents do.  The Raleigh-Cary area averaged 2.02 annual pedestrian deaths per 100,000 residents, while 1.6% of the area's workers walked to work.  This gave the metro area a "pedestrian danger index" of 128.6, compared with the national index of 52.1 and the North Carolina index of 95.8.

Transportation for America, a coalition that WakeUP Wake County is a member of, advocates on creating a 21st century national transportation program by modernizing infrastructure and building healthy communities where people can live, work, and play.  Their new report, Dangerous by Design, suggests that pedestrian fatalities are the result of streets that have been designed for cars, not pedestrians or bicyclists. 

With growing interest in increasing exercise levels, reducing obesity and heart disease, decreasing traffic congestion, and reducing air pollution, human-powered modes of transportation are becoming more attractive.  But in order to safely take advantage of active transportation alternatives, we must shift policies and design philosophies to build streets that are safer for all travelers, adding sidewalks and bike lanes, reducing crossing distances and installing crosswalks.  In many communities, such changes have made streets safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists.

The Raleigh-Cary area must plan for rapid population growth in the coming decades - as planning takes place, we need to consider not only how to accommodate this growth, but how to improve our cities to make them safe and healthy places to live.

More information at: http://t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign/