Duh! Oklahoma City is one of the least pedestrian friendly cities in the nation. Hmmm.....makes sense, considering we don't have a clue what a side walk is in this town. Hmmm...and now the city is considering building a trail right across 6 lanes of traffic on NW Expressway. Interesting! What will they come up with next?

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"Pedestrian safety study ranks Oklahoma City among the nation's most dangerous places


By Chris Casteel
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Look both ways when you cross the street in Oklahoma City. It's one of the most dangerous places to walk in America.
That's according to a study released Thursday about the nation's "mean streets." Oklahoma City -- where 12 pedestrians were killed last year and 20 died in 2002 -- ranked as the 19th most dangerous metropolitan area for pedestrians, among the 50 largest in the country.

The Surface Transportation Policy Project compiled the numbers, basing its danger index not just on the number of pedestrians killed per capita, but also by comparing the rates of people who walk to work.

In the Oklahoma City metro aea, only 1.7 percent of the people walk to work; but 1.44 pedestrians were killed in the past two years for every 100,000 people in the area, which includes several towns. Ten percent of the Oklahoma City area's traffic deaths involved pedestrians. The state overall averaged 46 pedestrian deaths per year in 2002 and 2003.

Florida had the four most dangerous cities on the list, and most of the worst areas were in the south and west. Of the top 50 metro areas, Boston was ranked as the safest, with Pittsburgh, Cleveland and New York right behind.

Quick growth
Paul Farmer, executive director of the American Planning Association, said post-World War II development led to quick suburban growth and has been followed by an emphasis on relieving traffic congestion. A lot of that development was "dumb growth," he said, which is being replaced in some areas now by "smart growth."

Anne Canby, president of the Surface Transportation Policy Project, said some cities have made progress since the last report on pedestrian deaths -- Oklahoma City's ranking is the same as it was in 2002 -- but that in many areas, the streets are more unsafe. Fatalities nationwide are falling, she said, but she added it wasn't a reason to be overly optimistic; fewer people are walking.

Seniors, children and minorities were found most at risk.

Walking trails
The Oklahoma City area ranked relatively high -- 12th -- among the top metropolitan areas in bicycle and pedestrian projects from 1998 to 2003.

In Oklahoma City, a $1 million walking and biking trail connecting existing paths at Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser is under way, though the project has raised safety concerns about pedestrians who must cross the busy Northwest Expressway.

Jerry Church, with the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, which administers federal money earmarked for trail construction, said the funding has been popular with the local communities.

Farmer said the transportation bill expected to be passed by Congress next year could provide more resources for trails and to ensure streets around schools are safe for walking. "