Build streets for humans first, not cars
Pedestrian deaths in America have just reached a 40-year high, increasing more than 50% from 2010 to 2020. Recent figures from Pittsburgh are not available, but a 2018 study of Allegheny County found that from 2013 to 2017, 2,098 pedestrians were involved in 1,985 accidents, with 178 suffering major injuries and 70 being killed.
Most of the accidents, serious injuries and fatalities happened in Pittsburgh. The accidents had many causes, but high among them is the city’s traditional car-centered approach to urban design and its decaying sidewalk infrastructure.
In an example of hopeful continuity between former Mayor Bill Peduto and new Mayor Ed Gainey, the mayor’s transition team report included several recommendations to enhance what it calls “pedestrian dignity.” This is just the right word for it: After all, walking is and always will be the normative form of locomotion for us bipedal creatures. The built environment should be constructed so that, as far as possible, everyone feels thatwalking for basic tasks is a live option.
The report rightly endorses the Peduto administration’s Pedestrian Safety Action Plan. The plan includes a move toward so-called “complete streets” that correct the historic emphasis on efficient car travel over all other concerns. New streets would be built and older streets renovated to create walking-friendly streets — streets that will still carry car traffic but include more space for pedestrians and traffic calming measures like speed humps and bumpy cobblestone pavement.
Particularly impressive is the proposal to fix 90% of the gaps in Pittsburgh’s sidewalk network over the next eight years. A dedicated Sidewalk Fund would support sidewalk repair in key areas, such as near transit stops, and another program would help residents who can’t afford to bring their own sidewalks up to code. This would help ensure that poorer neighborhoods aren’t consistently stuck with the worst walking infrastructure.
The ability to walk safely to run basic errands, visit friends and access public transit keeps communities knitted together. Walkers take in the sights and sounds of the city and of nature, and learn about the people and places in their community. And walking helps keep people healthy. According to one expert, “walking improves fitness, cardiac health, alleviates depression and fatigue, improves mood, creates less stress on joints and reduces pain, can prevent weight gain, reduce risk for cancer and chronic disease, improves endurance, circulation, and posture, and the list goes on.”
A more pedestrian-friendly city is a more human city. Building one combines Mr. Gainey’s emphases on public safety and public health, and should be a priority of his term.