Photo by specimenlifeBetween 2003 and 2012, 133 pedestrians were killed in D.C., according to a report from the National Complete Streets Coalition, representing 36.1 percent of the traffic-related fatalities during this time.
Dangerous by Design, the report created by Smart Growth America, examines pedestrian safety nationwide — more than 47,000 people died between 2003 and 2012 — and calls for a continued investment in making streets safer.
D.C.’s Pedestrian Danger Index — which looks at both the number of fatalities and the share of commuters who walk, with a higher score translating to more danger — is 14.7, compared to the metropolitan area’s, which is 44.06. Nationwide the PDI is 52.2.
Of the 133 deaths during that decade, 69.2 percent happened on streets with a posted speed limit under 30 mph and 9 percent on streets with a speed limit of 40 or above. No pedestrians died on streets with a speed limit of 20 mph or lower, according to the report.
People over 65 are disproportionately affected, as are Hispanics and African-Americans. While older people makes up 11.6 percent of the population, they represent 17.4 percent of the pedestrian fatalities from 2003 to 2010 — the fourth highest rate nationally. “Hispanics suffered an average pedestrian death rate 135 percent higher than the rate for non-Hispanic whites, and the average pedestrian death rate for African-Americans was 126 percent higher than for non-Hispanic whites,” according to the report. During that same time period, 11 children were killed.
In the entire region, 843 pedestrians were killed from 2003 to 2012.
“The majority of pedestrian deaths occur on roadways that are dangerous by design —engineered and operated for speeding traffic with little to no provision for the safety of people walking, biking or using public transit,” the report states. “One of the biggest culprits is the arterial. Rockville Pike or Route 1 are examples of arterial roads that have both local businesses and destinations that attract pedestrians, while also trying to move regional traffic through at high speeds. This type of design is especially dangerous for pedestrians: in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C., a majority of pedestrian deaths occurred on high speed arterials.”
The report calls for states to adopt a “complete streets” plan, which D.C. did in 2010, and to expand it.
See an interactive map of fatalities on our area here.
