A detailed study of where people walk reveals that driving speeds on many of the streets most used by pedestrians in U.S. cities are higher than recommended speeds, putting pedestrians at higher risk for serious injuries and death.

Recent data shows that pedestrian fatalities are hitting record numbers, and now, new research shines a light on the relationship between driving speeds and places with high pedestrian traffic. Kea Wilson describes the study in Streetsblog.
“In a new study traffic analytics firm Streetlight analyzed anonymized data from millions of cell phones in America's 30 biggest cities to better understand where people are walking the most, and how fast motorists are going in their midst.” Aside from New York City, where drivers average 25 miles per hour or less on 84 percent of the city’s most walked streets, most cities analyzed showed high driving speeds on roads with heavy pedestrian traffic. As Wilson explains, “That's bad news for walkers, considering that most experts say 25 miles per hour is the absolute upper bound of what any policymaker should consider acceptable in places where people travel outside cars.”
In Phoenix, “a surprising 52 percent of street segments reported more than 200 pedestrians an hour, but 65 percent clocked average driver speeds of 35 miles per hour or more.” Wilson adds that “Notably, the authors of the study chose to look rates of speed rather than rates of speeding, since many of the dangerous drivers picked up by their data were likely following the letter of the law.” And even when cities want to lower speed limits, they don’t have the authority to do so on state-owned streets, where 67 percent of pedestrian deaths happen.
FULL STORY: In the U.S., Drivers Hit the Deadliest Speeds in Places People Walk

Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.

National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.

Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.

Test News Post 1
This is a summary

Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.

Test News Headline 46
Test for the image on the front page.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service