Florida Has Five of Nation's Six Most Dangerous Metro Area for Walkers - Report Finds State Spends Just 99 Cents Per Person on Pedestrian Projects
November 21, 2002

Florida has five of the nation's six most dangerous large metropolitan area for walking, according to a new national report that says dangerous street design and a lack of investment in pedestrian safety are to blame. The metro areas include Orlando (1), Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (2), West Palm Beach-Boca Raton (3), Jacksonville (5), and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (6). Some of the most dangerous roads in the nation include U.S. 19 in Pasco and Pinellas Counties (accounting for an average of 16 pedestrian fatalities a year), U.S. 1 in Broward and Dade Counties (12 per year), and S.R. 50 in Orange County (7 per year). The report reveals that 994 pedestrians died in Florida in 2000 and 2001.

The report, available on-line at www.transact.org, notes that Orlando's pedestrian death rate of 3.3 deaths per 100,000 persons is remarkable, given that its walk-to-work rate, 1.3 percent, is well below the national average. However, Orlando is investing the most federal funds of any of the 10 most dangerous metro areas in pedestrian facilities, at $1.89 per capita annually.

The report also draws attention to U.S. 19 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, which averages more than one pedestrian fatality per month. It notes that county officials are considering creating a special task force to address the dangers of this six-lane principal arterial lined with strip malls and big box stores.

The study by the Surface Transportation Policy Project uses federal transportation and census data to rank metropolitan areas according to their danger to walkers. It also analyzes spending of federal transportation funds on pedestrian safety and facilities at the state and metropolitan level. The report, Mean Streets 2002, finds that while 16.8 percent of traffic deaths in Florida are pedestrians, Florida spends just 1.2 percent of its federal transportation dollars on protecting walkers and cyclists, just 99 cents per person.

"Our transportation dollars should be doing much more to protect children walking to school, seniors on the way to the store, and everyone else who walks," says David Burwell, President of the Surface Transportation Policy Project. "Our investment in pedestrian safety should match the percentage of traffic deaths that are pedestrians."

The report found that nine of the top ten most dangerous metro areas for pedestrians are below the national average in spending of federal funds on pedestrian safety. The report also finds that dangerous streets are discouraging people from walking and may be contributing to the rise in obesity. According to federal transportation and health surveys, the portion of Americans walking to work has dropped 26 percent in the last ten years, while the percentage of overweight Americans has grown by 60 percent.

The report states that about 250,000 people die each year due to diseases related to physical inactivity and unhealthy eating. "One way to fight that is to encourage physical activity by building communities where people can easily walk and bicycle," says Charles Pattison, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Florida, a statewide not-for-profit growth management advocacy group.

Wide, high-speed streets without sidewalks and few crossing points increase the dangers faced by walkers, according to the report, which lists some of the deadliest stretches of road in the United States.

Congress will have an historic opportunity to address this issue next year it takes up renewal of the nation's surface transportation law, TEA-21. Florida has spent $5.4 billion on transportation projects since TEA-21 took effect in 1998, but only 99 cents per person on walking and bicycling safety projects. At issue is how over $200 billion in federal transportation funds will be spent. Florida Senators Bob Graham and Bill Nelson, and Representatives Corrine Brown and John Mica are expected to play major roles in this process.

"We call on our Florida delegation to prioritize making our communities safer for walking," says Pattison. "We need a federal Safe Routes to Schools program to make it safe for kids to keep healthy by walking to school."

STPP and 1000 Friends of Florida make the following recommendations to protect the lives of walkers:

1. Match the Level of Funding to the Level of the Problem. If 16.8 percent of traffic fatalities are pedestrians, a similar amount of safety funding should be directed to protecting walker safety. Investments in pedestrian facilities should be highest in the areas where the most walkers are killed.
2. Build Walk-Friendly Streets. State and local governments should include safe access for bicyclists and pedestrians in all non-restricted transportation facilities.
3. Include Safe Routes to School Program in TEA-3. Create a new federal source of funding for building bicycle and pedestrian facilities and calming traffic around schools in the next federal transportation law.
4. Fund Florida's Safe Paths to School Program. Last year, the Florida Legislature authorized but did not fund a state Safe Paths to School program that would complement the proposed federal program.

STPP is a national not-for-profit coalition of more than 800 organizations working to ensure that transportation policy and investments strengthen the economy, promote social equity, and make communities more livable.

1000 Friends of Florida, a statewide nonprofit established in 1986, works to fight sprawl and build better communities across Florida.

Click here to review the complete study.

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