Report: LV among most dangerous cities for pedestrians

By Kyle B. Hansen

Friday, Nov. 13, 2009 | 2:19 p.m.

The Las Vegas area is one of the most dangerous metro areas in the country for pedestrians, according to a report released this week, and the area spends less than others its size on making pedestrians safer.

Las Vegas ranked No. 11 in pedestrian danger out of 52 metropolitan areas with more than 1 million residents, according to the report by the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership and Transportation for America.

The report ranks Las Vegas No. 49 for its spending on improving conditions for pedestrians, with 37 cents in federal funds per person going to bicycle or pedestrian projects annually.

Las Vegas had 91 pedestrian fatalities in 2007-2008, which was about 20 percent of all traffic deaths, according to the report. Nationwide, pedestrian deaths average 11.8 percent of all traffic fatalities.

The report gave Las Vegas a Pedestrian Danger Index score of 105.6, behind the No. 10 city on the list, Atlanta, which scored 108.3. The first four cities on the list were in Florida, with Orlando having the nation’s most dangerous conditions for pedestrians, the report said.

The national average on the index was 52.1. Nevada’s statewide average was 81.3 and Reno got a 64.5 score.

The Pedestrian Danger Index factors in the number of pedestrian fatalities and the number of people in the area who walk to work.

Nationwide, more than half of pedestrian deaths occurred on poorly designed, high-speed, high-capacity thoroughfares, the report says.

The report, titled “Dangerous by Design: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths (and Making Great Neighborhoods),” claims that many of the deaths would be prevented if roads were better designed.

The two organizations use the report to call on Congress to adopt a national complete streets policy that would require federally funded projects to include pedestrian and bicycle safety features, expand the Safe Routes to School program, dedicate more funds to safety measures and hold states accountable for pedestrian safety.

Transportation for America describes itself as a coalition of “housing, business, environmental, public health, transportation, equitable development and other organizations.”

The Surface Transportation Policy Partnership is a nonprofit organization that says it’s “working to ensure safer communities and smarter transportation choices.”