Community Corner
Deadliest Areas For Pedestrians: Sarasota, Bradenton Rank High In U.S.
An annual study from Smart Growth America ranks the Sarasota, Bradenton area as the 19th most dangerous place in U.S. for people walking.
SARASOTA, FL — The Sarasota-Bradenton-North Port area is the 19th most dangerous metro area for pedestrians in the U.S. according to Smart Growth America’s 2022 Dangerous by Design report.
The report, which compiles the number of people who have been struck and killed nationwide and ranks the country’s 100 largest metro areas in the U.S. by pedestrian fatalities, found that “nearly every state and metro area is getting more deadly.” (Read the full report below.)
Dangerous by Design compared the average fatality rate from five-year periods — 2016 to 2020 data with rates from 2011 to 2015 — and found that 81 metro areas saw the number of pedestrian deaths increase.
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In 2020, more than 6,500 people across the U.S. were struck by cars and killed while walking, according to the report. That’s an average of 18 pedestrian deaths a day and a 4.5 percent increase over 2019.
The report also found that people of color and those walking in lower-income areas are hit and killed by cars at higher rates.
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At No. 19 on the list, the Sarasota-Bradenton-North Port area averaged 2.92 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people from 2016 to 2020, according to the data.
Other Florida cities also made the top 20 deadliest metro areas for pedestrians from 2016 to 2020, including:
- No. 1 – Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach with 4.25 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people.
- No. 4 – Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater with 3.55 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people.
- No. 6 – Jacksonville with 3.44 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people.
- No. 8 – Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford with 3.37 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people.
- No. 12 – Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville with 3.13 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people.
- No. 14 – Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach with 3.11 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people.
Florida is also the second deadliest state for pedestrians, according to the report. The Sunshine State averaged 3.22 pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 people from 2016 to 2020.
It came only behind New Mexico, which took the No. 1 spot with 3.78 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people.
Read the full Dangerous by Design 2022 report from Smart Growth America:
Dangerous by Design 2022 Report - Sarasota-Bradenton-North Port Ranks High by Tiffany Razzano on Scribd
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