CALIFORNIA'S MEAN STREETS: NEW REPORT RANKS MOST DANGEROUS PLACES FOR PEDESTRIANS

Sacramento, Contra Costa, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles Top List

State Ranks Last in Nation for Pedestrian Safety Spending

Sacramento - A new report released today by the Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) finds that pedestrians throughout California are in serious danger navigating streets and intersections that are increasingly built for speed and traffic. According to the report, Dangerous by Design: Pedestrian Safety in California, Sacramento, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Santa Clara and San Mateo are the state's five most dangerous counties for 1999. Regions characterized by rapid growth and sprawling suburban-style development, with wide streets and fast-moving traffic, typically pose the worst problem.

Los Angeles tops the rankings for the most pedestrians killed and injured; 203 pedestrians were killed and 5,377 were injured -- more than a third of the total number of pedestrians hit by cars in the state. San Francisco has the highest injury rate statewide as well as the highest percentage of all traffic fatalities that are pedestrians. Counties that climbed from previous years' rankings on the "Pedestrian Danger Index" include San Joaquin, Ventura, San Bernardino and San Francisco counties.

While pedestrians account for nearly 20 percent of all traffic fatalities statewide, the state spends less than one percent of its federal transportation funds protecting them -- $40 per person is spent on highway projects in the state, four cents per person on pedestrian projects. In 1999 alone pedestrian accidents cost the state nearly $4 billion in lost productivity and medical expenses while government agencies spend a only a fraction of that on prevention.

"Pedestrians deserve their fair share of transportation funding," said James Corless, STPP's California Director. "As officials decide how to spend their transportation money, their top priority should be making our streets safer for everyone."

Exacerbating the lack of funding is a new "crosswalk removal policy" now widespread across the state. Transportation officials have been removing marked crosswalks and suggest that they provide pedestrians with a "false sense of security." Yet once crosswalks are removed, pedestrians are left to fend for themselves.

The lack of safe streets and sidewalks affects some populations more than others. According to the report, state hospitalization records show Latinos and African Americans, especially children, are at the highest risk from pedestrian-vehicle collisions. A disproportionate number of pedestrians who are hospitalized are also low-income.

"This report sheds light on the gross social injustice that underlies California's pedestrian safety problem," said Luis Arteaga, Associate Director for the Latino Issues Forum and contributor to the report. "We can't forget that behind all these statistics about pedestrian deaths and injuries are real people: Latinos, African Americans, and the working poor, many of whom depend on walking not by choice but by necessity."

While the problem continues to explode throughout California, new state policies and investments can provide solutions. What can be done:

• Dedicate a fair share of traffic safety funding to pedestrians. Four bills currently on the Governor's desk awaiting his signature by the September 30th deadline are a step in the right direction. The legislation could provide an additional $35 million a year in traffic safety funding targeted towards bicyclists and pedestrians

• Suspend California's crosswalk removal policy. California should develop a new minimum design standard for crosswalks that includes "zebra" striping and overhead lighting or flashing signals.

• Consider pedestrians during the design of every project. Communities must be designed so that people can walk safely.

• Collect more information on pedestrians. Lack of information makes pinpointing underlying problems and solutions difficult at best.

• Develop a statewide blueprint for bicycling and walking. Dozens of towns and cities around the country have begun implementing newer pedestrian safety measures to reduce fatalities and injuries, often in conjunction with urban and suburban revitalization efforts. Measures like sidewalks, lighted crosswalks, bike paths and walking trails that are accessible to people with disabilities as well as traffic calming programs hugely successful in other states, are a critical part of the solution.

"Whether it's redesigning streets and crosswalks, earmarking more money or supporting new legislation, there's no shortage of solutions," said STPP's Corless. "The public is clearly demanding that something be done. Our elected leaders and government agencies must jumpstart the process."