Keys to designing cities with fewer traffic fatalities (Atlanta, Marietta: low income, 2015)

[cqholt]

A New Report Outlines Design Strategies for Reducing Traffic Fatalities - CityLab

Consider Atlanta(metro), a notoriously sprawling city. At 9.7 deaths per 100,000 people, its traffic-fatality rate is three times that of far denser New York City (3.2 per 100,000).

Unincorporated Cobb County(excludes city and interstate crashes) had 7 pedestrian fatalities in 2014.

• Keep cities compact. When sprawl development rather than compact urban design becomes the norm, so does car travel. Short block lengths, as well as concentrated housing and business districts, allow easy, walkable access to public transit and reduce dependence on personal motor vehicles. Sprawl does the opposite, with deadly effects. Consider Atlanta, a notoriously sprawling city. At 9.7 deaths per 100,000 people, its traffic-fatality rate is three times that of far denser New York City (3.2 per 100,000).

• Reduce traffic speeds. The faster drivers are going, the more likely they are to kill or gravely injure anyone they might hit. The report suggests traffic-calming measures such as speed bumps, raised pedestrian crossings, and sidewalk extensions to slow cars in urban areas.

• Create streets that are for people, not just cars. Pedestrian islands, wide sidewalks, plazas and bike lanes are all part of an environment that reduces the primacy of the automobile—as well as fatalities.
  Make public transportation safe, affordable, and convenient. Because then people will use it. The report cites the example of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, which recently launched a bus-rapid transit system, complete with rebuilt streets designed to make walking to the stations safe. It now carries 700,000 passengers a day. According to the report, systems such as this one can cut traffic death and catastrophic injuries from crashes in half.

• Use data mapping techniques to identify problem spots and target design fixes. With modern data-collection capacity, analyzing patterns of danger becomes much easier, allowing officials to put resources into the intersections and streets that pose the greatest risk to citizens.

[jsvh]

Add one more to that tally: Pedestrian dies in Cobb County traffic accident

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Add one more to that tally: Pedestrian dies in Cobb County traffic accident

I do not get those crashes, since it happened within a city. But reading the article, Cobb County and most the area outside of Atlanta's core and historic neighborhoods violate the keys.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Unincorporated Cobb County(excludes city and interstate crashes) had 7 pedestrian fatalities in 2014.

Terrible.

It is probably even worse in DeKalb and Fulton. The studies I've seen say pedestrian fatalities tend to be far more frequent in low income areas.

Pedestrian Death Statistics for Counties, Census Tracts

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Terrible.

It is probably even worse in DeKalb and Fulton. The studies I've seen say pedestrian fatalities tend to be far more frequent in low income areas.

Pedestrian Death Statistics for Counties, Census Tracts

Let's not speculate without data about which counties are worse. But you are correct in the majority of ped crashes happen in lower income areas.

[evannole]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Terrible.

It is probably even worse in DeKalb and Fulton. The studies I've seen say pedestrian fatalities tend to be far more frequent in low income areas.

Pedestrian Death Statistics for Counties, Census Tracts

Thank you, arjay, for the statistics. I agree this is terrible anywhere it happens, and based on your stats, it looks like it happens at a terrible rate all over the metro area, and at higher rates in Fulton and DeKalb.

I agree that most parts of the metro, regardless of county or city, violate these common sense tenets for making streets safer for pedestrians. There are also some parts of counties that have a bad rap that are actually really good for pedestrians. The central part of Smyrna, for instance, is pretty pedestrian friendly, especially by Atlanta standards, and the downtown Marietta area is fantastic for those on foot, not only in layout, but also on how they treat pedestrians vs. cars.

To wit: the other day, a woman posted on a Facebook group I follow, noting an encounter she had on the Marietta Square. She was driving and, after waiting for some pedestrians to cross, executed her turn with a green light. A Marietta Police officer pulled her over and asked her if she knew what she had done wrong. She didn't, and he explained that the law requires that drivers wait until pedestrians are completely out of the crosswalk before entering it, as they could change their mind and decide to walk back the other way, which could be dangerous if a car was there. He only issued her a warning, and to her credit, she was not complaining at all in her post, just warning others of what the law actually says. I was glad to learn of this nuance myself, and have been trying to adhere to it ever since. Good job by the officer on educating people on this.

[evannole]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Let's not speculate without data about which counties are worse. But you are correct in the majority of ped crashes happen in lower income areas.

Well, he posted a link to a ton of data, right there. And he is correct, is is worse in Fulton and DeKalb.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by evannole

Thank you, arjay, for the statistics. I agree this is terrible anywhere it happens, and based on your stats, it looks like it happens at a terrible rate all over the metro area, and at higher rates in Fulton and DeKalb.

I agree that most parts of the metro, regardless of county or city, violate these common sense tenets for making streets safer for pedestrians. There are also some parts of counties that have a bad rap that are actually really good for pedestrians. The central part of Smyrna, for instance, is pretty pedestrian friendly, especially by Atlanta standards, and the downtown Marietta area is fantastic for those on foot, not only in layout, but also on how they treat pedestrians vs. cars.

To wit: the other day, a woman posted on a Facebook group I follow, noting an encounter she had on the Marietta Square. She was driving and, after waiting for some pedestrians to cross, executed her turn with a green light. A Marietta Police officer pulled her over and asked her if she knew what she had done wrong. She didn't, and he explained that the law requires that drivers wait until pedestrians are completely out of the crosswalk before entering it, as they could change their mind and decide to walk back the other way, which could be dangerous if a car was there. He only issued her a warning, and to her credit, she was not complaining at all in her post, just warning others of what the law actually says. I was glad to learn of this nuance myself, and have been trying to adhere to it ever since. Good job by the officer on educating people on this.

Many older areas of metro Atlanta cities are walkable and follow the keys listed. They were built before the time when transportation planners only built for cars.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by evannole

Thank you, arjay, for the statistics. I agree this is terrible anywhere it happens, and based on your stats, it looks like it happens at a terrible rate all over the metro area, and at higher rates in Fulton and DeKalb.

I agree that most parts of the metro, regardless of county or city, violate these common sense tenets for making streets safer for pedestrians. There are also some parts of counties that have a bad rap that are actually really good for pedestrians. The central part of Smyrna, for instance, is pretty pedestrian friendly, especially by Atlanta standards, and the downtown Marietta area is fantastic for those on foot, not only in layout, but also on how they treat pedestrians vs. cars.

To wit: the other day, a woman posted on a Facebook group I follow, noting an encounter she had on the Marietta Square. She was driving and, after waiting for some pedestrians to cross, executed her turn with a green light. A Marietta Police officer pulled her over and asked her if she knew what she had done wrong. She didn't, and he explained that the law requires that drivers wait until pedestrians are completely out of the crosswalk before entering it, as they could change their mind and decide to walk back the other way, which could be dangerous if a car was there. He only issued her a warning, and to her credit, she was not complaining at all in her post, just warning others of what the law actually says. I was glad to learn of this nuance myself, and have been trying to adhere to it ever since. Good job by the officer on educating people on this.

Good post.

Georgia has one of the toughest pedestrian safety laws in the nation. But it is rarely enforced, and both drivers and pedestrians break it all the time. Components of that law include the following:

-Drivers must stop--not yield, stop--for any pedestrian in the crosswalk, even if they have a green light, before entering the intersection. You have to remain stopped until there are no more pedestrians within one lane of all the lanes in the direction you wish to travel. Note that this implies that crosswalks across one-way streets must be completely clear in order to legally cross. You cannot legally roll into the intersection or dodge pedestrians.
-Exception #1: if a pedestrian jumps out into the road and it is physically impossible to avoid stopping in time. Exception #2 includes the following:
-Pedestrians have right of way over cars if and only if they are legally in a crosswalk or entered the roadway "under safe conditions" (40-6-92).
-Jaywalking can be legal if (1) not done between two intersections that both have traffic lights and (2) is done in a manner that does not endanger the pedestrian's safety.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

Good post.

Georgia has one of the toughest pedestrian safety laws in the nation. But it is rarely enforced, and both drivers and pedestrians break it all the time. Components of that law include the following:

-Drivers must stop--not yield, stop--for any pedestrian in the crosswalk, even if they have a green light, before entering the intersection. You have to remain stopped until there are no more pedestrians within one lane of all the lanes in the direction you wish to travel. Note that this implies that crosswalks across one-way streets must be completely clear in order to legally cross. You cannot legally roll into the intersection or dodge pedestrians.
-Exception #1: if a pedestrian jumps out into the road and it is physically impossible to avoid stopping in time. Exception #2 includes the following:
-Pedestrians have right of way over cars if and only if they are legally in a crosswalk or entered the roadway "under safe conditions" (40-6-92).
-Jaywalking can be legal if (1) not done between two intersections that both have traffic lights and (2) is done in a manner that does not endanger the pedestrian's safety.

A good example of how design in roadways is more important than laws. You can set your neighborhood street with a 15mph speed limit, but if it is without any cross-streets, straight, flat, and 80ft wide everyone will fly 50+ mph down it.