Florida’s large metro areas rank 1,2,3,4 in pedestrian danger: SW Florida Presents Problems/Neglect/Solutions
1. Florida’s only four large metro areas rank 1,2,3,4 in pedestrian danger among the nation’s large metro areas.
2. Florida’s average pedestrian danger index, at 176.6, is 2.7 times the national average of 65.6.
3. For all size metro areas, Florida has 11 of the nation’s top 25 in pedestrian danger.
4. Florida has either been ranked #1 in the nation or in the top 3 states for both pedestrian and bicycle fatalities every year since 2001.
5. 1 in every 10 US pedestrian fatalities is in Florida. 1 in every 6 US bicycle fatalities is in Florida.
6. How each of Florida’s metro areas, including our local areas, rank and compare, statewide and nationally.
7. That 13 of 20 Florida metro areas spend less than the national average of available federal dollars for pedestrian safety, $1.46/person, including Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice and Palm Coast, which spend $0.00/person.
8. Causes and solutions for the problem, including how one local city has dramatically reduced pedestrian accidents and an effort for a solution with Florida Congressman Vern Buchanan.
Orlando-Kissimmee, Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, and Jacksonville, are ranked 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the nation’s 52 large metro areas (pop.1,000,000+) by Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI) for 2007-2008, according to a recently released report, Dangerous By Design, published by the Surface Transportation Policy Project and Transportation for America. These are the only large metro areas in Florida.
Separately, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Traffic Safety Fact reports show that, in every year from 2001 to 2008, Florida has been in the top three states in both pedestrian and bicycle fatality rates. Further, Florida was #1 in bicycle fatality rates for six years and #1 in pedestrian fatality rates for two years. No other state comes close to matching this record. Statistics compiled by Bicycle/Pedestrian Advocates (BPA) from NHTSA data, shows the rankings for these years and shows Florida accounted for 1 in 6 (16.8%) of all national bicycle fatalities and 1 in 10 (10.9%) of all national pedestrian fatalities.
As Dangerous by Design listed national rankings only for the large metro areas and only provided state rankings for smaller areas, BPA recompiled the data that provides national rankings by PDI for all of the country’s 416 metro areas, a national PDI average, and other statistics. The spreadsheet shows that the worst metro area in the country is Macon, GA with a PDI of 398.9, narrowly edging Punta Gorda, FL at 398.2. Third is Sumter, SC at 328.8. It shows that the national average PDI is 65.6 but that Florida’s average PDI is 2.69 times the national average at 176.6. The spreadsheet also shows that Florida leads the country with eleven metro areas in the top 25, followed by South Carolina with four, and Georgia with three. Florida’s 20 metro areas are listed below with their national rank, their PDI, their PDI as a percentage of the national average PDI of 65.6, and for a comparison with the country’s largest city, their PDI as a percentage of the New York City metro area’s PDI of 28.1.
National PDI PDI as % PDI as % Metro area
Rank of Nat Avg of NYC PDI
2 398.2 606.6% 1417.1% Punta Gorda
5 293.1 446.5 1043.1 Sebastian-Vero Beach
12 236.6 360.4 842.0 Ocala
13 222.5 339.0 791.8 Panama City-Lynn Haven
14 221.5 337.4 788.3 Orlando-Kissimmee
16 220.7 336.2 785.4 Lakeland-Winter Haven
17 205.5 313.1 731.3 Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater
18 201.8 307.4 718.1 Palm Bay- Melbourne-Titusville
23 183.3 279.2 652.3 Cape Coral-Fort Myers
24 183.0 278.8 651.2 Palm Coast
25 181.2 276.0 644.8 Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Pompano Beach
38 157.4 239.8 560.1 Jacksonville
45 150.8 229.7 536.7 Port St. Lucie
46 147.7 225.0 525.6 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach
58 126.3 192.4 449.5 Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice
69 109.4 166.7 389.3 Tallahassee
72 105.4 160.6 375.1 Naples-Marco Island
127 74.1 112.9 263.7 Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin
165 58.3 88.8 207.5 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent Parker
176 55.5 84.6 197.5 Gainesville
Thus, Florida’s four large metro areas, Orlando-Kissimmee, Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, and Jacksonville, have pedestrian danger indexes, respectively, 3.4, 3.1, 2.8, and 2.4 times the national average and 7.9, 7.3, 6.4, and 5.6 times that of New York City.
The leading cause of pedestrian fatalities identified by Dangerous by Design is America’s shift from Main Street to high-speed arterial roads which account for 56% of pedestrian fatalities. According to the report, “These deaths typically are labeled “accidents,” and attributed to error on the part of motorist or pedestrian. In fact, however, an overwhelming proportion share a similar factor. They occurred along roadways that were dangerous by design, streets that were engineered for speeding cars and made little or no provision for people on foot, in wheelchairs, or on a bicycle.”
The conventional wisdom is that there is not much we can do about pedestrian danger. But, Dangerous by Design identifies five ways to locally address the problem; creating walkable communities, street designs such as pedestrian refuges, better signals, and roundabouts, road diets which reduce lanes or lane widths, “Complete Streets” policies which design corridors for all users, and use of Safe Routes to Schools, a federally funded program that improves pedestrian access near schools. Indeed, one Florida city has succeeded with such tactics. St. Petersburg used federal funding to implement better street designs and become the first in the country to adopt innovative pedestrian signalization, along with efforts in education, enforcement, and bicycle facilities. Their annual pedestrian accidents fell by more than 50% from 2000 to 2008. Yet, Dangerous by Design reports that 13 of Florida’s 20 metro areas opted to spend less than the national average of $1.46 of federal dollars spent per person on pedestrian safety, including Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice and Palm Coast, which spent $0.00.
On the national level, Dangerous by Design identifies four ways to address the problem; a national Complete Streets policy, increased funding for Safe Routes to Schools, holding states accountable for safer streets, and ensuring that bicycle/pedestrian safety programs gain their fair share of safety funding. Currently, though bicycle/pedestrian fatalities account for 13% of the nation’s traffic fatalities in 2008, the USDOT spends less than 1% of its safety funding on bicycle/pedestrian efforts. In August, 2009, BPA contacted USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood and Congressman Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota,, FL, a member of the House Transportation Committee, asking that the next USDOT budget raise bicycle/pedestrian safety spending to 13%. As of this writing, the request is still being reviewed.
All data/material sources used in this press release can be obtained by contacting:
Mike Lasche, Executive Director, BPA, 941-544-7788, mikel.modem@verizon.net.
