Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Bike/Ped

Naomi Doerner on How Street Safety Advocates Can Support Racial Justice

By Angie Schmitt | Jul 22, 2016 | 30 Comments

When a police officer in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, shot and killed Philando Castile earlier this month, the encounter began with a traffic stop. The stop fit a pattern: Castile had been pulled over many times before — 46 times in 13 years — but few of those citations were for dangerous driving. More prevalent were stops for minor issues like […]

Report: As Cities Add Bike Lanes, More People Bike and Biking Gets Safer

By Angie Schmitt | Jul 20, 2016 | 9 Comments

The more people bike on the streets, the safer the streets are for everyone who bikes. This phenomenon, originally identified by researcher Peter Jacobsen, is known as “safety in numbers.” And that’s exactly what American cities are seeing as they add bike infrastructure — more cyclists and safer cycling — according to a new report from the National […]

U.S. Traffic Fatalities Rising Fast — Especially Pedestrian and Cyclist Deaths

By Angie Schmitt | Jul 1, 2016 | 35 Comments

Traffic fatalities in America hit a seven-year high in 2015, with pedestrians and cyclists accounting for a disproportionate share of the alarming increase, according to preliminary data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Last year, 35,200 people were killed in traffic — a 7.7 percent increase over 2014 and the worst death toll since 2008. The number of people killed while […]

From Minneapolis, Evidence That the Census Undercounts Walking and Biking

By Angie Schmitt | May 15, 2015 | 28 Comments

The U.S. Census is the most widely cited source of data about how Americans get around. It’s updated regularly and it covers the whole country, but it comes up short in a number of ways. The Census only asks about commute trips, and commuting only accounts for about 16 percent of total household travel [PDF]. What […]

FHWA Will Help Cities Get Serious About Measuring Biking and Walking

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 15, 2015 | 2 Comments

The lack of good data on walking and biking is a big problem. Advocates say current metrics yield a spotty and incomplete picture of how much, where, and why Americans walk and bike. The U.S. Census only tells us about commuting — a fairly small share of total trips. The more detailed National Household Transportation Survey comes with its own drawbacks: It’s […]

Anthony Foxx Challenges Mayors to Protect Pedestrians and Cyclists

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 23, 2015 | 4 Comments

With pedestrian and cyclist deaths accounting for a rising share of U.S. traffic fatalities and Congress not exactly raring to take action, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is issuing a direct challenge to America’s mayors to improve street safety. Yesterday Foxx unveiled the “Mayor’s Challenge for Safer People and Safer Streets” at the U.S. Conference of Mayors […]

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