The annual Dangerous by Design report from Smart Growth America breaks down data from federal and the 101 largest metro areas on pedestrian safety.
Along with providing updated rankings of the deadliest places for people walking, this year’s analysis shows that most places are becoming even more dangerous.
The report calls out that people over the age of 65 account for 23 percent of all pedestrian fatalities despite only being 18 percent of the population. The report goes on to say that “this number will continue to grow as we refuse to admit that relying on personal vehicles as the only means of transportation fails everyone, especially older Americans.” The highest rate of pedestrian fatalities by age are for adults age 50-64 (2.89 per 100,000 people), followed closely by those age 75 and older (2.80 per 100,000).
Compared to other metro areas, Boston-Cambridge-Newton and Worcester are relatively safer for pedestrians ranking 97th and 99th, respectively, on the 101 metro regions analyzed.
More information is available in the full report here.