Better Streets. Less Victim Blaming.

Cities shouldn’t have to rely on “human sacrifice” to get more/better pedestrian infrastructure. “We’ve sort of come to accept these deaths as part of the background of our daily lives,” Angie Schmitt, editor at Streetsblog USA…” We’ve all been conditioned to believe that “cars (should) dominate streets above all other multimodal needs”. People walking and on bikes are routinely injured and killed, and drivers are only sometimes held accountable. If a case actually goes to court a jury will often sympathize with the driver who claims that the person “came out of nowhere”- “it could be me”.  With better street design, slowing traffic speeds, and fewer people owning cars, we may be on our way to having safer cities.  It won’t happen over night, and it will take strong advocacy to change the culture. 

Advocates urge less ‘victim-blaming,’ better street designs to reduce pedestrian deaths

Chris Teale August 8, 2018

“As cities try and make their streets safer for all users, especially with the likely increase in use of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in the coming years, investments in pedestrian infrastructure becomes paramount. And beyond the financial requirements, Schmitt said a “wider cultural bias” that cars dominate streets above all other multimodal needs must be addressed…”