According to a 2009 report from Transportation for America, more than 76,000 Americans have been killed in the past 15 years while walking along or crossing a street; more than 3,906 children under the age of 16 have been killed in the past decade alone.
Here in Connecticut, the dangers are high. According to a 2010 study by the Alliance for Biking and Walking, nearly 11.5 percent of all trips in Connecticut are made by bicycle or on foot, nearly 2 percent higher than the national average; yet only 0.8 percent of the state’s federal transportation funding is spent on bicycling or pedestrian-oriented projects. Meanwhile, 13.3 percent of traffic fatalities in the state are pedestrians or bicyclists, which is higher than the national average. According to 2009 rankings by the League of American Bicyclists, Connecticut ranked 44th out of 50 states in terms of bike friendliness.
Fortunately, the City of New Haven and community organizations, such as the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition, have made plans to develop safer streets for pedestrians, including a plan passed by the Board of Aldermen in September. Certainly, support from community stakeholders will help in achieving the goals laid out in the plan. Clearly, Yale University would greatly benefit from the safety benefits Complete Streets would deliver its campus community.
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