How to Make City Streets Safer for Pedestrians

Walking is the most basic form of mobility, yet pedestrian fatalities are a major issue worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, more than 270,000 pedestrians lose their lives on the world’s roads each year. That’s a pedestrian being killed every 2 minutes.

As cities grow, so does the urgency of the pedestrian safety issue. More than half of the world’s population already lives in cities, and an additional 2.5 billion people are projected to move to urban areas by 2050. With more people living in denser areas, cities need to find ways to efficiently and safely manage the increased foot traffic.

Improving pedestrian safety requires understanding the multitude of risk factors. A recent report by the International Traffic Safety Data and Analysis Group shows that simple steps like improving sidewalks, installing traffic calming devices and raising awareness can reduce the risk of crashes involving pedestrians by 25-30 percent.

Here are six ways cities can make their streets safer for pedestrians:

1. Sidewalks and Crossings

A complete, continuous and well-maintained sidewalk and crossing network should be the basis of any pedestrian safety strategy. Proper sidewalks and crossings help pedestrians move safely through the city by creating a clear path distinct from vehicle traffic.

Sidewalks should be wide enough to comfortably accommodate pedestrian flow, including wheelchairs, strollers and carriages. The standard width is 1.8-2 meters. Obstacles like utility poles and sign posts should not block the travel path. Sidewalks in good condition encourage more people to walk instead of using cars.

Well-designed pedestrian crossings also improve safety by clearly delineating where pedestrians should cross. Crossings should be convenient, accessible and easy to use. Examples include raised crosswalks, refuge islands and tables, and well-marked crosswalks. Traffic signals tuned for pedestrians with adequate crossing time and visibility further help pedestrians safely navigate intersections.

A report by the National Complete Streets Coalition found that streets with sidewalks on both sides had the fewest pedestrian crashes, followed by streets with sidewalks on one side. In contrast, streets without any sidewalks had 2.5 times more pedestrian crashes than those with sidewalks on both sides. Installing sidewalks and crossings should be a basic part of any pedestrian safety effort.

2. Traffic Calming

Traffic calming measures change driver behavior and slow vehicle speeds. This improves safety by giving pedestrians and drivers more time to react to avoid collisions. Popular traffic calming measures include:

Speed humps – Raised bumps across the roadway that force drivers to slow down
Chicanes – A series of raised or delineated curb extensions, planters or bollards that alternate from one side of the road to the other, forming S-shaped curves that reduce speed.
Road diets – Reducing or narrowing traffic lanes to expand sidewalks and install bike lanes. With fewer and narrower lanes, drivers have less room to accelerate and are more cautious.
Pedestrian safety islands – Small sections of pavement or curb extensions in the middle of streets that serve as a refuge for crossing pedestrians. This breaks up longer crossings into segments so pedestrians only have to navigate one direction of traffic at a time.
Raised crosswalks – Crosswalk at the same grade as the sidewalk to alert drivers they are entering pedestrian space and must slow down. Often constructed with textured materials.
Roundabouts – Raised circular intersections that reduce speed and the severity of collisions. Pedestrians only have to cross one lane of traffic at a time with refuge islands for stopping in the middle.

According to the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, traffic calming measures like speed humps and traffic circles reduce crashes involving pedestrians by 45 percent. Traffic calming should be applied widely in areas with heavy pedestrian activity.

3. Complete Streets

Complete streets policies help systematically design and operate entire streets to enable safe access for all road users. Pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders and motorists of all ages and abilities can safely navigate and cross complete streets.

This integrated approach considers the needs of pedestrians at all stages of roadway planning and design. Sidewalks, frequent and safe crossings, median islands, curb extensions and other pedestrian features are included from the start.

Complete streets can incorporate:

Wide sidewalks
Bike lanes
Dedicated bus lanes
Comfortable and accessible transit stops
Frequent crossing opportunities
Pedestrian safety islands and other refuges
Traffic calming devices

Policies and legislation that encourage or mandate complete streets provide vital political and institutional backing. They signal livability and safety as priorities in transportation planning. Over 800 regional and local jurisdictions in the United States have enacted complete streets policies.

Adopting a complete streets approach is one of the most comprehensive ways to improve pedestrian safety. All users are considered in planning and designing roadways so walking is convenient, comfortable and safe.

4. Improved Visibility and Lighting

Simple enhancements like better street lighting and visibility at crossings can reduce pedestrian crashes at night by 35-50 percent, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Street lighting illuminates the roadway so drivers can see pedestrians, obstacles and other vehicles more clearly. Pedestrians also benefit from improved visibility. Consistent street lighting helps people gauge distances and gaps in traffic when crossing roadways.

Upgraded lighting should be targeted to areas with significant nighttime pedestrian activity. These include intersections, mid-block crossings, transit stops and walking routes to schools or shopping.

High visibility crosswalks, detectable warning surfaces and flashing beacons also make pedestrians more visible to drivers. Reflective paint, warning lights and other conspicuity enhancements are especially important on multi-lane roads where pedestrians may be obscured from view.

Removing visual obstacles near crossings further improves visibility between pedestrians and motorists. Relocating obstructing parked cars, newsstands, utility equipment and other street furniture helps create clear sight lines. Buildings set far back from the road similarly enhance visibility at crossings.

Better streetscapes contribute to pedestrian comfort while reinforcing safety. Well-lit streets with open sight lines encourage more people to walk instead of using cars. Carefully designed lighting, landscaping and buildings that promote visibility improve pedestrian safety.

5. Reduced Speed Limits

Managing speed is one of the most effective ways to reduce pedestrian crashes. At lower speeds, drivers have more time to react to avoid collisions with pedestrians. The stopping distance for a vehicle drops dramatically as speed decreases:

At 50 km/hr, stopping distance is 38 meters
At 40 km/hr, stopping distance is 29 meters
At 30 km/hr, stopping distance is 21 meters

According to the World Health Organization, pedestrians have a 90% chance of surviving a car crash at 30 km/hr or below. But the chances of survival plummet to less than 50% for crashes over 45 km/hr. Simply reducing urban speed limits from 50 km/hr to 30 km/hr cuts pedestrian crashes by one third.

Lower speed limits should be applied widely in areas with heavy foot traffic like downtowns, commercial districts, schools and transit stations. Traffic calming measures like road diets and speed humps can reinforce compliance with lower limits. Speed limit signage should be highly visible and unambiguous.

Enforcing lower speeds through methods like speed cameras modifies driver behavior over time. But changing the design of streets through lane reductions and traffic calming is usually more impactful than relying on enforcement alone. The most effective strategies use multiple reinforcing approaches to manage vehicle speeds.

6. Safe Driver and Pedestrian Behavior

Educating road users is an important complement to built infrastructure when improving pedestrian safety. Drivers and pedestrians may not understand traffic laws or follow safe roadway behavior. Traffic safety campaigns help fill critical knowledge gaps.

For pedestrians, key messages include:

Always use marked crosswalks and obey traffic signals
Make eye contact with drivers before crossing and watch for turning vehicles
Wear bright clothing if walking at night or in low visibility
Avoid distraction from mobile phones or headphones while walking

For drivers, campaigns should promote:

Watching carefully for pedestrians, especially at intersections and crossings
Slowing down and preparing to yield in areas with crosswalks
Not blocking crosswalks when stopping at intersections
Looking for pedestrians before making turns at intersections
Driving slowly and scanning carefully for pedestrians at night

Strict enforcement of distracted or reckless driving should accompany educational initiatives. Police can crack down on speeding, failure to yield to pedestrians, running red lights, blocking crossings and other dangerous driving behaviors. Consistent enforcement and meaningful fines discourage life-threatening actions.

Vision Zero campaigns adopt a holistic approach that combines many pedestrian safety elements. These include safer urban design, lower speed limits, education and enforcement. The ambitious goal is eliminating all traffic fatalities through concurrent policies reducing dangerous behaviors, risks and crashes.

Walkable Cities Are Safer Cities

Improving pedestrian safety not only prevents tragic deaths and injuries, it builds more inclusive communities. Traffic crashes disproportionately impact vulnerable groups like children, the elderly and people with disabilities. Enhancing walkability helps achieve social equity goals.

More walking also benefits the environment and public health. Making streets more pedestrian-friendly fights obesity, chronic diseases, congestion, pollution and other urban ills literally step-by-step. It ultimately creates more livable cities for all.

Implementing the strategies outlined here will go a long way to reducing pedestrian crashes around the world. But continued innovation and research are still needed. Emerging technologies like pedestrian detection systems and autonomous vehicles could potentially transform road safety in the future.

Cities should learn from each other’s successes and challenges to accelerate progress. Improving pedestrian safety is an urgent task, but collaborative action and a comprehensive approach can save lives.