Safety First

The bias towards high-speed mobility, traffic efficiency, and street space for cars has made many of our streets unsafe for pedestrians and bicyclists, which can pressure more people into using cars in an effort to protect their safety. This vicious cycle further perpetuates both traffic congestion and the likelihood of pedestrian and motorist deaths.

Safety concerns resulting from the perceived risk of crime is another factor that makes individuals less likely to walk and more likely to retreat to car use. The atmosphere of our streetscapes and the practical design of streets can impact both the incidences of crime and the extent to which people fear the possibility of crime. Therefore, in terms of safety from both traffic and crime on Main Street, transportation and streets do matter.

Unsafe conditions of car-oriented streets include:

• High speeds
• Streetscapes unfriendly to pedestrians and cyclists
• Crime that can be encouraged by poorly-lit and underused sidewalks

Benefits of people-oriented streets include:

• Saved lives and improved accessibility
• Reduced crime
• Sense of security and more human interaction

Resources

• ChangeLab Solutions
  • Making Streets Welcoming for Walking
  • Move this Way
• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) — Services and Products
• Federal Highway Administration — Course on Walkways, Sidewalks, and Public Spaces
• Main Street America — Inspiring a Community and State to Build a Better Block
• National Association of City Transportation Officials — Complete Streets Guidelines: Sidewalk Widths
• National Crime Prevention Council — Best Practices For Using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in Weed and Seed Sites
• National Highway Traffic Safety BoardAutomated Vehicles for Safety
  Reducing Speeding-Related Crashes Involving Passenger Vehicles
• National Transportation Safety Board — Reducing Speeding-Related Crashes Involving Passenger Vehicles Safety Study
• Project for Public Spaces
  • 8 Principles of Streets as Places
  • Evaluating Park Safety: The Safety Audit Process
  • Safety & Security in Public Space
  • Key Factors in Planning, Designing and Maintaining Safer Parks
  • Planning, Designing and Maintaining Safer Parks: Introduction
  • A New Vision to Fix the Tragedy No One Ever Thinks About
  • Understanding Personal Safety
  • Why is America Falling Farther Behind Other Nations on Street Safety?
• Shaver, Katherine (The Washington Post)
  • Is Biking Stressing you Out? Here’s how Planners are Trying to Make Things Better.
  • Why your favorite bench might be there to thwart a terrorist attack
• Transportation Research Board — National Academies/​TRB Forum on Preparing for Automated Vehicles and Shared Mobility
• U.S. Department of Transportation — Comprehensive Management Plan for Automated Vehicle Initiative
• The Vision Zero Network
• World Health Organization — Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018
• World Resources Institute — Cities Safer by Design

Have a resource you’d like to add? Please fill out this form.