People may not consider Boston one of the most pedestrian-friendly cities in the country, and for good reason. The streets are narrow, windy and difficult to navigate via any means of transportation. The drivers have something of a spotty reputation, and some people will do anything to avoid public transportation. A new study, though, alludes that these actually work in Boston’s favor, and make it one of the best cities for walking.
The National Complete Streets Coalition released its Dangerous by Design 2014 report on Tuesday afternoon, ranking major metropolitan areas based on pedestrian safety – number of fatalities and at risk walkers.
The report also ranks urban centers based on the custom Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI) which takes into account the safety of walking by normalizing fatality rates based on “how often people walk to work, and by the share of traffic fatalities suffered by people on foot,” according to Smart Growth America.
The PDI is based on data from 2008 to 2012. Considering that, Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH area comes in as the 51st city out of 51 in terms of PDI with a score of 18.65.
To put that into perspective, Florida topped the charts with four cities with the highest PDI. Orlando-Kissimmee had the highest with an outrageous 244.28 score followed by Tampa-St. Petersburg-Cleawater, 190.13; Jacksonville, 182.71; and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, 145.33.
Florida isn’t the only southern state to have metro areas among the unsafest for walkers, though. Fellow Sunbelt communities crowd near the top of the list, which the report contends is because “These areas developed rapidly, with many low-density neighborhoods overly dependent on extra wide, fast arterial roads to connect homes, schools, jobs and shops.”
Greater Boston, as much of us can attest, is a high-density area with an abundance of slender roadways. Subsequently, this renders an increased volume of foot traffic and with that, more safety measures. Earlier in May, we reported that Boston has the highest percentage of employees who hoof it to work.
Boston’s pedestrians are so secure, in fact, the report used the city as a prime example for giving walkers what they need the most. For example, improved sight lines and visibility, crossing islands where appropriate, curb ramps on sidewalks that meet ADA compliance and easily accessible crossing signals are just a handful of infrastructure improvements that make strolling much easier for residents.
The Hub is currently in the midst of a non-traditional transportation overhaul, emphasizing alternate transit usage to driving in a car. The city – and the state at large – will benefit tremendously from Governor Deval Patrick’s transportation bond bill, which will render infrastructure improvements for bike and walking lanes.
We’re even hearing the rumblings of an imminent campaign to bring hitchhiking back into the fold, as a safe, viable way of getting from A to B.
To view the entire Dangerous by Design 2014 report, you can check it out right here. In the meantime, feel free to tell us your preferred way of trekking to work every morning in the comments section below.
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