Metro Atlanta has achieved another unwanted distinction.
According to a recent study, it is the eighth most dangerous place to walk in the country.
The study looked at pedestrian accidents from 2003 to 2012, in the area described as the Atlanta-Marietta-Cobb region.
The study noted that 839 pedestrians were killed in the defined region during the decade it looked at. It notes there were 1.59 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people in the years 2008 to 2012.
The Orlando area topped the list with 583 deaths during the decade and a rate of 2.75 per 100,000 people from 2008 through 2012.
At the bottom of the list of areas studied, ranked 51st, was the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy area with 476 deaths in the decade at a rate of 0.99 per 100,000 people from 2008 to 2012.
The study, conducted by Smart Growth America, notes communities in the Sunbelt, particularly the South, top the list of most dangerous places to walk.
It cites their post-war growth, mostly through low density neighborhoods that rely on wider streets with higher speeds to connect homes, shops and schools.
Metro Orlando tops the report’s list of most dangerous areas to walk, followed by the Tampa–St. Petersburg, Jacksonville, Miami and Memphis regions. The Birmingham, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix and Charlotte regions round out the list of the 10 most dangerous places to walk.
The report says in the decade of the study, 47,025 pedestrians died in the United States after being hit by a vehicle. An estimated 676,000 were injured—meaning someone on foot was hit by a car about every eight minutes.
Smart Growth America describes itself as the only national organization dedicated to researching, advocating for and leading coalitions to bring better development to more communities nationwide.
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