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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Down To Earth

Map pedestrian fatalities near your address


You may recall the Dangerous By Design report,
which featured the most dangerous cities for pedestians in America. Now, Transportation For America has a new feature where you can type in an address and a map pops up with data of pedestrian fatalities from 2000 to 2009 in a sixty mile radius. I typed mine in and was saddened at the results: So many were between the ages of 60-80.

Roads can be naturally trying for older adults. In a national survey, almost 40% of Americans over the age of 50 say their neighborhoods lack adequate sidewalks and 48% have no comfortable place to wait for the bus. The Spokane map reflects national trends with older pedestrians were overrepresented in fatalities. In 2008, they comprised 13% of the population and they accounted for 18% of the fatalities.

Transportation for America points out that from 2000 to 2009, 47,700 pedestrians were killed in the United States, the equivalent of a jumbo jet full of passengers crashing roughly every month.

Despite the magnitude of these avoidable tragedies, little public attention — and even less in public resources — has been committed to reducing pedestrian deaths and injuries in the United States.

"Despite the magnitude of these avoidable tragedies, little public attention — and even less in public resources — has been committed to reducing pedestrian deaths and injuries in the United States," the site says. Go HERE to try the map and learn more about dangerous design.



Down To Earth

The DTE blog is committed to reporting and sharing environmental news and sustainability information from across the Inland Northwest.