Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Albuquerque

The People Left Behind By Car-Centric Planning

There are five schools within a mile of this location in Albuquerque. Photo: Better Burque

The child walking in the dirt along this high-speed road in Albuquerque isn't the type of person America has designed its transportation systems for.

Engineering formulas and public budgets typically focus on eliminating delay for motorists. A kid walking to school is an afterthought, or worse, an inconvenience in a system that aspires to scientific efficiency in moving cars.

The writers at Better Burque flagged this Google Street View photo as an example of how the city and county should be doing better for people on foot. It's no surprise that a child is walking here:

There are five schools within a one-mile radius here, and many trailer parks, including the one noticeable in this Google Street View. One school, Robert F. Kennedy Charter, is mere feet from this kid.

Despite the obvious failure to design this street so kids can safely walk to school, when drivers harm pedestrians in this type of environment, it's the victim who gets blamed. A few lines appear in the local paper failing to note anything about the configuration of the street or the driver's behavior, and that's the end of it. Patterns of preventable deaths resulting from known design flaws are treated as isolated tragedies we have no control over.

But car-centric roads and land use patterns endanger people on foot every day. They're captured all the time in photos like this one in Nashville:

It is cruel that we do this to people. And then if they're killed we blame them.

Photo: @norakernel @walkbikenash pic.twitter.com/G2QjMlLDjS

— Streetsblog USA (@StreetsblogUSA) November 14, 2017

More people need to see what a hostile environment we've made for people outside of cars, so we're going to do a crowdsourcing project. Do you have photos of people trying to navigate dangerous situations on foot? Either your own work or pulled from Google Maps? Send your images to angie [at] streetsblog [dot] org or tag them on Twitter with #walkinginthemargins.

More recommended reading today: PlanPhilly writes that job sprawl is part of what's keeping many central Philadelphia residents mired in deep poverty. And Seattle Transit Blog explains how the region's new transit fare card will work.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: Amtrak Is Way More Successful Than You Think

Why do so many people still treat Amtrak as a failure — and what would it take to deliver the rail investment that American riders deserve?

October 24, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Are Hanging Out Down the Street

The same old thing we did last week — until the neighbor wrote a letter to the editor.

October 24, 2025

Report: Lessons from California’s HSR Project

A new paper from the Mineta Institute looks at California's high-speed rail project—and how to do better moving forward.

October 23, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Life After Cars

Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon of The War on Cars podcast on their new book, opposing views, Turtle Jesus and potential off-ramps towards car-free cities.

October 23, 2025

Traffic Congestion Is a Housing and Transit Problem, Not a Highway Problem

To truly solve tangled traffic in California (and across the U.S.), we need to take the problem out of the hands of the road builders and address the root causes of congestion: building more affordable housing near jobs and improving public transportation options.

October 23, 2025

Truckers Back NYC Busway Plan That Trump Blocked

The federal government has obviously lost its trucking mind.

October 23, 2025
See all posts