When we design streets primarily for people – recognizing instincts like how long someone will wait for a walk signal or where they’ll stand before crossing – small, affordable changes can make behavior more predictable and streets demonstrably safer for everyone. By shifting the focus away from cars and toward human-centered design, such as clear sightlines, comfortable waiting spaces, and safer crossing opportunities, we remove the need for people to dangerously negotiate vehicle-dominated systems to stay safe.
pedestrians
People cross the street where it makes sense
A new study out of Milwaukee highlights a major blind spot in how we approach safety for people on foot. People don’t only cross at intersections; midblock crossings are more common than transportation agencies typically measure and plan for. About one in six crossings in the study happened midblock, sometimes more often than at intersections themselves. This behavior is predictable, widespread, and largely missing in how we design our streets.
Webinar: Sidewalk Data For Detailed First- and Last-Mile Access Analysis
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Walking routes to and from bus stops and transit stations are critical for riders, but sidewalk data can be hard to come by. Washington State DOT is wrapping up a two-year effort to build a unified pedestrian infrastructure dataset that is compatible with OpenStreetMap and geared toward accessibility-forward planning.
15-minute cities don’t limit car use—they provide options
If cities want to reduce car dependency, it will take more than putting amenities closer together. New research from Japan reveals a persistent pattern: even when people live within a 15-minute walk of essential services, many still choose to drive. Without supportive conditions like higher residential density and safe, appealing infrastructure for pedestrians, people will continue to drive, even when everything they need is a short walk away.
Pedestrian deaths aren’t accidents, they’re policy failures
Pedestrian deaths are rising faster in the U.S. than in any other high-income country. A decade-long surge, up 50%, has made the U.S. the most dangerous place to walk among 27 peer nations. Many experts view these deaths not as random accidents but as preventable tragedies that reflect deeper policy failures in transportation, infrastructure, and public safety.
Involving walkers and bikers in design can make streets safer
Including road users in a participatory “co-design” process can result in better safety interventions than those made by professional engineers alone, according to a new study. Participatory design incorporates the needs and views of end-users of what’s being designed—in this case, pedestrian crossings used by workers and students.
People on bikes are vulnerable and don’t need to be reminded
Late last month, the Texas DOT posted a message on X (formerly Twitter) urging cyclists to behave better. But this message garnered at least 250 frustrated responses. The echo chamber of X obviously is not a representative sample, but the backlash reflects real challenges that cyclists face every day. Unfortunately, people who bike—along with those who walk, take transit, or face other mobility issues—experience a world where most drivers do not follow the rules, which often puts them at a dangerous disadvantage.
Pedestrian deaths spike right after sunset
As pedestrian deaths continue to rise, it has become clear that most of these deaths happen at night. But a new study finds that the half hour after sunset is the most dangerous in the United States. This worrisome trend is exacerbated by the high-speed, multilane roads that predominate in the U.S. The solutions, in addition to improved visibility, are the same at night as they are during the day: policy, design, and behavior changes that encourage safer, slower driving.
Vehicle hoods are now four inches taller and 22 percent more deadly for pedestrians
Vehicles keep getting larger and heavier. Increasing a vehicle’s size not only increases emissions, it also has important implications for pedestrian safety, increasing the risk of injury and death on the road. Many studies have looked at the predominant factors that heighten risk for pedestrians. A new study from the University of Hawaii analyzes both crash data and physical vehicle measurements, rather than focusing on vehicle types, to determine a leading factor in pedestrian death rates: the front-end height of a vehicle.
Success driving less
Driving less is one of the keys to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, and to reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads. Most states have seen an increase in per capita vehicle miles traveled over the last 25 years. There are exceptions, however, where political action, multimodal investment, or the development of compact neighborhoods acted to pull VMT numbers down, says a new report by the Frontier Group.