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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I found two websites which describe the risk of walking in America’s metropolis:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.good.is/post/the-worst-cities-for-walking/">http://www.good.is/post/the-worst-cities-for-walking/</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:16.5pt;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>and this one:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/1008/dead-walking/flat.html">http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/1008/dead-walking/flat.html</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:16.5pt;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:16.5pt;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>The worst cities for walking site comments:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:16.5pt;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:16.5pt;background:white'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>Transportation for America released <a href="http://t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign/" target="_blank"><span style='color:black'>a new study</span></a> on which U.S. cities are most dangerous for pedestrians. If you're going for a stroll in Florida, keep your wits about you: Orlando, Tampa, Miami, and Jacksonville take the top spots.<br><br>The report blames most pedestrian deaths on what they call "poorly designed arterial roads"-they're high-speed, multi-lane city streets lined with shopping centers, drive-throughs, apartments, and office space, yet devoid of pedestrian-friendly elements like crosswalks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The Dead Man Walking site comments:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“Cities where pedestrians happily walk to their destinations instead of driving everywhere are our dream, but what if it means taking your life in your hands?”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I found five cities that were on both lists and compared their statistics for number of annual pedestrian deaths per 100,000 population, Atlanta, LA, Detroit, Baltimore, and Washington DC. Note the pedestrian deaths per 100,000 population for each site and the factor of disparity between the two:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Dead Man Walking Worst Cities for Walking<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Atlanta 10.97 1.37<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Detroit 10.31 1.41<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Los Angeles 7.64 1.91<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Baltimore 7.54 1.82<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Washington DC 5.74 1.75<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The disparity in deaths per 100,000 population for each city is as follows<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Dead Man Walking vs Worst Cities for Walking differ by a factor of:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=184 style='width:137.85pt;border-collapse:collapse'><tr style='height:15.0pt'><td width=92 nowrap style='width:69.05pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal>Atlanta<o:p></o:p></p></td><td width=92 nowrap valign=bottom style='width:68.8pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Courier'>8.0<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:15.0pt'><td width=92 nowrap style='width:69.05pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal>Detroit<o:p></o:p></p></td><td width=92 nowrap valign=bottom style='width:68.8pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Courier'>7.3<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:15.0pt'><td width=92 nowrap style='width:69.05pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal>Los Angeles<o:p></o:p></p></td><td width=92 nowrap valign=bottom style='width:68.8pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Courier'>4.0<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:15.0pt'><td width=92 nowrap style='width:69.05pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal>Baltimore<o:p></o:p></p></td><td width=92 nowrap valign=bottom style='width:68.8pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Courier'>4.1<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:15.0pt'><td width=92 nowrap style='width:69.05pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal>Wash. DC<o:p></o:p></p></td><td width=92 nowrap valign=bottom style='width:68.8pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Courier'>3.3<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></table><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So here we have two cities reporting a similar statistic where they differ by a factor of anywhere from 3 to 8. Why the disparity? Could it be that Worst Cities for Walking is not taking *<b>all</b>* pedestrian deaths into consideration? Their comment <span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>"poorly designed arterial roads…devoid of pedestrian-friendly elements like crosswalks,” suggests to me they do not count pedestrian deaths from anything other than being struck by traffic. In most places, this is the least of your worries if you are walking.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>They go on to identify the five worst cities, which is what really caught my attention in all this is the top for spots for pedestrian danger are all in Florida: Orlando, Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville. Being a Florida boy and having been in all four of these cities, I attest their crosswalk system needs improvement, however… better crosswalks will do nothing to counteract the pedestrian deaths that are not caused by being struck by a lumbering Detroit. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>Neither of the sites explain how they determine what constitutes a pedestrian death, but most of us agree that it is not legitimate to count as a pedestrian fatality some lardbutt who has a heart attack while walking down the sidewalk with a donut in one hand and a twinky in the other. He likely would have had a heart attack anyway, sitting in his car. Likewise with a person who suddenly succumbs to emphysema or perhaps sudden onset malignant hemorrhoids, coupled by blunt force from a baseball bat. So, if one refuses use one’s imagination, we can explain the factor of 8 difference in pedestrian deaths in Atlanta and the 7.3 factor difference in Detroit by assuming Dead Man Walking includes pedestrian deaths by malignant hemorrhoids and other factors, whereas Worst Cites does not.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>Or we can admit the obvious: walking in cities is dangerous, but being struck by traffic is only a small fraction of that danger. Dead Man Walking comments “…pedestrians happily walking to their destinations instead of driving everywhere are our dream…” This dream could turn into a nightmare, if it caused pedestrian deaths to go up instead of down, as I rather suspect it would. Without cars, Worst Cities for Walking’s pedestrian fatalities would go to zero as pedestrian fatalities rise. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>When people tell me driving is more dangerous than walking, riding a bicycle etc, I must wonder where they get their statistics, and how they are filtered. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>Cars are our suit of armor. Depending on where you live, they can mean the difference between life and death. The way to make cities safer then would be to eliminate buses, for one is at least temporarily a pedestrian on either end, and have everyone drive everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>spike<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>