Dangerous By Design: Metros With Top Local Spending on Pedestrians
| Dangerous By Design: Full Rankings and Tables | ||
| Table 1: | Most Dangerous Metro Areas (Over 1 Million in Population) | |
| Table 2: | Top 10 Metros with Highest Share of Pedestrian Fatalities | |
| Table 3: | Highest Avg. Fatalities per 100k People Age 65 and Older (by State) | |
| Table 4: | Metros > 1m With Highest Yearly Spending on Pedestrians | |
| Table 5: | State Pedestrian Fatalities & Federal Spending on Walking & Biking | |
| Appendix C: | All 360 Metros with Pedestrian Danger Index Grouped by State | |
| Appendix A: | Methodology | |
Despite the danger of walking in many metro areas, most state departments of transportation have not made walking a budget priority, and have failed to take advantage of increased federal funding available to address pedestrian safety. Dangerous By Design analyzed state spending of federal funds authorized by the federal transportation bill SAFETEA-LU (FY2005-FY2008), comparing state commitments of federal funds to pedestrian safety. Spending of federal funds does not account for all investments into pedestrian safety. Many communities have been investing in sidewalks and other facilities for decades, or have dedicated more local funds (and state funds) to this purpose. However it does indicate the level of commitment transportation agencies have made toward creating safer pedestrian environments, particular on the arterial roads that are most dangerous and likely to have been substantially federally funded over the years.
Within metro areas, where most walking takes place, federal funds spent on these vital transportation needs comes to just pennies per person. In the most recent period, the 52 largest metro areas (over 1 million population) averaged annual investment of federal funds on bicycle and pedestrian projects of just $1.39 per person. The average metro area spends 2.2 percent of their federal transportation funds on projects to improve conditions for walking and bicycling.
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Table 4: 52 Metros Over 1 Million in Population, Ranked By Local Spending on Pedestrians |
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| Spending Rank |
Metro Area | Portion of All Traffic Deaths that were Pedestrians |
Average Yearly Federal Funds Spent on Bike/Ped per Person |
| 1 | Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA | 17.5% | $4.01 |
| 2 | Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN | 7.0% | $3.82 |
| 3 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 16.7% | $3.28 |
| 4 | Rochester, NY | 14.4% | $3.06 |
| 5 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 12.1% | $2.77 |
| 6 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 8.1% | $2.61 |
| 7 | Tucson, AZ | 13.9% | $2.52 |
| 8 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 22.2% | $2.45 |
| 9 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 14.2% | $2.39 |
| 10 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA | 11.6% | $2.39 |
| 11 | Jacksonville, FL | 14.6% | $2.25 |
| 12 | Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA | 15.6% | $1.98 |
| 13 | Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA | 17.2% | $1.95 |
| 14 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 22.4% | $1.86 |
| 15 | Indianapolis-Carmel, IN | 9.2% | $1.85 |
| 16 | Kansas City, MO-KS | 10.7% | $1.70 |
| 17 | Salt Lake City, UT | 14.3% | $1.66 |
| 18 | San Antonio, TX | 13.5% | $1.65 |
| 19 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 27.7% | $1.52 |
| 20 | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 17.2% | $1.50 |
| 21 | Pittsburgh, PA | 10.0% | $1.46 |
| 22 | St. Louis, MO-IL | 10.9% | $1.29 |
| 23 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 19.8% | $1.24 |
| 24 | Columbus, OH | 12.2% | $1.24 |
| 25 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 21.4% | $1.19 |
| 26 | Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH | 10.9% | $1.17 |
| 27 | Birmingham-Hoover, AL | 7.0% | $1.12 |
| 28 | Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH | 20.3% | $1.11 |
| 29 | San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA | 20.4% | $1.03 |
| 30 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | 16.7% | $0.95 |
| 31 | Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN | 8.5% | $0.94 |
| 32 | Orlando-Kissimmee, FL | 17.4% | $0.87 |
| 33 | New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA | 18.6% | $0.85 |
| 34 | Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | 22.1% | $0.83 |
| 35 | Oklahoma City, OK | 11.9% | $0.77 |
| 36 | Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI | 18.4% | $0.75 |
| 37 | Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX | 17.4% | $0.73 |
| 38 | Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI | 19.5% | $0.73 |
| 39 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 13.0% | $0.72 |
| 40 | Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC | 11.0% | $0.71 |
| 41 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 22.5% | $0.65 |
| 42 | Denver-Aurora, CO | 20.4% | $0.65 |
| 43 | New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA | 31.1% | $0.61 |
| 44 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 15.7% | $0.60 |
| 45 | Baltimore-Towson, MD | 19.7% | $0.59 |
| 46 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 11.4% | $0.58 |
| 47 | Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY | 19.4% | $0.52 |
| 48 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA | 26.9% | $0.45 |
| 49 | Las Vegas-Paradise, NV | 20.3% | $0.37 |
| 50 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | 12.4% | $0.22 |
| 51 | Austin-Round Rock, TX | 15.0% | $0.16 |
| 52 | Richmond, VA | 9.2% | $0.15 |
