Our streets are dangerous by design

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Our streets are dangerous by design.

Our streets are designed to move cars as quickly as possible, at the expense of safety for all other travelers. Because of this, the number of people killed while walking on our roadways continues to rise—reaching 7,522 in 2022, marking a 40-year high and a 75 percent increase since 2010. The majority of these deaths occur on state-owned roads.

Our state representatives must intervene to address dangerous street design to curb these preventable deaths. Fill out the form below to send a message to your state elected officials, and take the opportunity to tell them about your experience with deadly roads in your state.

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Tell your state representatives and state DOT it's time to invest in safety over speed

Subject: Our streets are dangerous for people walking

Message:

The number of people hit and killed while walking on U.S. roadways continues to rise. In 2022, the most recent year with complete federal data, the number of people who were struck and killed while walking grew to 7,522, marking a 40-year high and an astonishing 75 percent increase since 2010. Our state's statistics are available at smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design/state-of-the-states. These deaths are preventable, and they’re largely the result of dangerous road design that fails to prioritize the safety of all road users over the speed of a few. I call on you as my elected representatives and state DOT to coordinate with each other and local communities to invest in building safe routes for all road users, including older adults, people of color, and low-income residents who are at the greatest risk of being hit and killed while walking. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides money to address this issue, but for too long, state-level investments in transportation have focused on roadway expansion, often to the detriment of safe walking conditions. To reverse the rising trend of pedestrian deaths, it is past time to prioritize investments in safety by accomplishing the following: Set goals to reduce pedestrian fatalities. Work towards these goals by investing in Complete Streets, Vision Zero programs, and safe, accessible infrastructure for the most vulnerable road users. Work with local communities to create safer routes on state-owned roadways, the deadliest roads in the country. This is a state and local issue, and meaningful community engagement and collaboration will be critical to avoid further unnecessary deaths. Answer the federal call to go beyond the basic standards for roadway safety and accessibility. These minimum requirements are not enough to address the ever-growing danger on our roadways. It is time to prioritize the safety of all road users. If we do not, the number of preventable deaths on our roadways will continue to rise.

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Our streets are dangerous by design.

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Our streets are dangerous by design.

Sorry, we're not targeting any representatives in your area. But you can still help!

The comment period for this document is now closed. But, you can still help!

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