Pedestrian Safety

San Francisco's "Vision Zero" pedestrian safety plan received a $75,000 cash infusion this month with the program reporting a 41 percent drop in traffic deaths in the city since its 2014 launch. Read More

What's new with bike sharing, housing development fees and high speed rail? Settle in for some in-depth reading on these and other topics of interest to regional government. Housing, transportation, the environment and the latest MTC publications are all included in this month's library link round-up. Read More

A few weeks ago we highlighted how the Bay Area has experienced a recent sharp upward trend in fatalities and injuries from roadway crashes, and that bicyclists and pedestrians were bearing the brunt of these unwelcome developments. A new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) suggests growing dangers for pedestrians are not just a Bay Area issue: in both relative and absolute terms, pedestrian deaths nationwide are at levels not seen in decades.

The report, Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities By State: 2017 Preliminary Data, contains a host of alarming findings about conditions for pedestrians across the country (emphasis added in bold):   

• The nationwide number of pedestrian fatalities increased 27 percent from 2007 to 2016, while all other traffic fatalities over this period decreased by 14 percent.
• Pedestrian deaths as a percent of total motor vehicle crash deaths increased steadily, from 11 percent in 2007 to 16 percent in 2016. Pedestrians now account for the largest proportion of traffic fatalities during the past 33 years.