Text taken from National Walking Survey
America Walks in partnership
with Hunter College
September 2011
19) Pedestrian Safety Problems
Survey respondents were asked
to indicate the extent to which each of nine items posed a problem in terms of
pedestrian safety in their neighborhoods.
The response categories ranged from “very big problem,” to “somewhat of
a problem,” to “only a small problem,” to “not a problem at all.”
Listed in descending order in
Table 19 below is the percent who said a given item was a “very big problem” or
“somewhat of a problem.” Topping the list was distracted drivers. More than a quarter of all respondents
indicated inattentive drivers were a serious problem facing pedestrians in their
neighborhoods. Trailing closely behind
was another automobile-related item – speeding motor vehicles. The next two items concerned the scarcity of
sidewalks or unsmooth walking surfaces.
Though not on the list of problems in the survey, several respondents
mentioned in the open-ended “comments” section of the survey that cyclists who
disobeyed traffic laws also posed a hazard to pedestrians.
Table 19. Safety Problems for Pedestrians
|
Problem
|
Percent Who Say Very Big
Problem
|
Percent Who Say Somewhat of a
Problem
|
Total Percent
|
|
Drivers talking on cell phones
or using other electronic devices
|
26.5
|
27.7
|
54.2
|
|
Speeding motor vehicles
|
22.9
|
30.3
|
53.2
|
|
Unsmooth sidewalks or other
walking surfaces
|
13.4
|
24.7
|
43.4
|
|
Not enough sidewalks
|
18.7
|
20.7
|
39.4
|
|
Poorly-lit streets
|
10.7
|
22.6
|
33.3
|
|
The sidewalks are too narrow
|
6.8
|
16.5
|
23.3
|
|
The Walk Signs or street
signals do not give me enough time to walk across the street safely
|
5.5
|
12.6
|
18.1
|
|
Crime
|
3.4
|
10.1
|
13.5
|
|
Dogs or other animals
|
3.4
|
9.7
|
13.1
|
Coinciding with expectations,
the percent who report a given problem as being serious varies by the type of
neighborhood in which the respondent lives.
Residents of the most densely-populated areas are significantly more
likely to indicate that distracted drivers, speeding motor vehicles, and crime
are “very big problems.” Oppositely,
residents of the least-populated areas are much more likely to indicate that
too few sidewalks, unsmooth walking surfaces, poorly-lit streets, and dogs
constitute “very big problems.” Also
residents of lower income areas, with the exception of the two
automobile-related items, are more likely to view the other seven pedestrian
safety items as being more serious than residents of more affluent areas.
Interestingly, the
“instrumental walkers” and the “hybrid walkers” were far more concerned about
both distracted drivers and speeding motor vehicles than either the
“health/relaxation walkers” or the infrequent walkers. This finding persists even when controlling
for the population density of the neighborhood in which they reside.
In conjunction with the nine
items relating to pedestrian safety, we asked respondents whether they had
“ever been hit by a car or truck” or whether they had “ever been hit by a
cyclist.” All together, 6.1 percent of
the respondents reported that they had been hit by a car and 4.8 percent report
having been struck by a cyclist.
The proportion of those
saying they have been hit by a car decreases with age. Alternatively, the proportion increases
as the population density of the area in which the respondent resides goes
up. Males and those whose basic
orientation towards walking is mainly to get to a specific destination (the
“instrumentalists”) or equally to get to a specific destination and for purposes
of health and relaxation (the “hybrids”) are more likely to report having been
hit by a car than those whose primary purpose in walking is for health and
relaxation.
Similar to those who say they
have been hit by a car, there is a positive relationship between population
density and the percent of those who say they have been struck by a
cyclist. As the population of an area
becomes increasingly concentrated, more people say they have been struck by a
cyclist. However, age is now
curvilinearly related to saying one has been hit by a cyclist. Among the youngest age category (18-24) and
the oldest age category (65 years or older), there is a greater percent
reporting being hit by a cyclist than among the age categories falling in the
middle. Finally, those who describe
their walking pace as “brisk” are more likely to say they have been hit by a
cyclist.
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