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.