City planning initiatives must prioritize pedestrian safety to prevent injuries and fatalities caused by vehicles. Strategies include well-lit crosswalks, lower speed limits, driver education programs, and pedestrian malls. Urban planners can tour cities to identify areas for improvement.
It is important that city planning initiatives protect pedestrian safety as many cities experience hundreds or more pedestrians injured or killed by drivers each year. Pedestrian safety planning aims to prevent pedestrians and cyclists from being run over by vehicles. Cities can establish pedestrian safety forums involving transportation, policing, and engineering strategies.
Having well-lit crosswalks marked with signs labeled “pedestrian crossing” is one way to protect pedestrian safety. Lowering speed limits and enforcing them is another way. Since driver distraction has been found to be a major cause of pedestrians being hit by cars, many people are calling for a ban on using cell phones while driving. In some areas, talking on a cell phone or sending and receiving text messages while driving a vehicle is illegal.
A good way to protect pedestrian safety is to have signs in front of crosswalks warning drivers to prepare to stop for pedestrians. Mandatory driver education programs that educate drivers to pay more attention to pedestrians and cyclists also help create greater awareness of pedestrian safety issues. Installing raised crosswalks near schools and parks is something many city planners have called for to protect young pedestrians.
In some cities, members of urban planning committees have toured the city and taken public transit to try to better understand improvements that can protect pedestrian safety. These experiences have, in some cases, led to the refurbishment of crosswalks near obstructed vehicle turning lanes and in areas where driver blind spots may be a problem. Planners who favor the creation of no-car zones called pedestrian malls in the city center can get a better idea of where a mall should be located by observing traffic and transit patterns firsthand.
Blocking a downtown area designated for pedestrians only is a worldwide method used to protect pedestrian safety; it also helps reduce carbon emissions. Pedestrian malls in countries such as Germany, China and Denmark have proven popular with tourists. They also allow people living in the center of a city greater safety from vehicular traffic. A pedestrian mall with attractive planters and tree-lined walkways also graces the downtown core for tourists and residents alike.
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