Cleveland

blue

Axios Cleveland Partners

Cleveland Alerts

Alert

Get smarter, faster on what matters in Cleveland with Sam Allard and Troy Smith.

Axios Cleveland

Standard

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Cleveland.

Axios Cleveland Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

Cleveland Members

Membership

Tampa Bay

Axios Tampa Bay

Cleveland continues to be one of the safer cities for pedestrians, according to a report from Smart Growth America.

Why it matters: Pedestrian safety is especially important in Cleveland, which is considered to be one of the nation's most equitably walkable cities.

How it works: The Dangerous by Design report examined pedestrian deaths from 2020 through 2024 and ranked the nation's 101 largest metro areas by annual pedestrian fatality rates.

By the numbers: Drivers killed 122 pedestrians in Cleveland over the last five years. While still a tragic number, Cleveland had the 13th lowest pedestrian fatality rate among cities tracked.

Cleveland had an average annual fatality rate of 1.12 per 100,000 residents, the lowest rate among major Ohio cities.

Zoom out: Ohio ranked 38th among all states for pedestrian fatality rates, with 754 pedestrian deaths from 2020 to 2024.

Columbus (No. 73), Dayton (tied for No. 74 with Rochester, New York), Cincinnati (No. 83), Akron and Toledo (both tied for No. 85) all joined Cleveland (No. 89) in having among the lower fatality rates of cities studied.

Flashback: Cleveland's numbers are similar to what they were in 2024, the last time Smart Growth America issued its report.

The city's pedestrian fatality rate was 1.07 per 100,000 residents between 2018 and 2022, with 111 deaths during that period.

Between the lines: The researchers argue that road design shapes driver behavior in "invisible but powerful ways" and that the country's streets are often "built to prioritize the speed and convenience of cars" over safety.

Specifically, they point to roads with "too-wide lanes, infrequent pedestrian crossings, and poor visibility," which they say disproportionately endanger communities of color and lower-income neighborhoods.

American Indian and Alaska Native people are killed while walking at 3.7 times the national rate, while Black Americans die at 1.7 times the national rate, according to the report.

Cleveland ranks among safest big metros for walking

Pedestrian safety is important in one of the nation's most equitably walkable cities.

Illustrated of road infrastructure around an orange safety cone.

Cleveland continues to be one of the safer cities for pedestrians, according to a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="report from Smart Growth America" data-vars-click-url="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/signature-reports/dangerous-by-design/?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=sendto_localnewslettertest&amp;stream=top" data-vars-content-id="bba5f595-8088-44d8-bf2d-07e917ac0982" data-vars-headline="Cleveland ranks among safest big metros for walking" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/signature-reports/dangerous-by-design/?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=sendto_localnewslettertest&amp;stream=top" target="_blank">report from Smart Growth America</a>.Why it matters: Pedestrian safety is especially important in Cleveland, which is considered to be one of the nation&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="most equitably walkable cities" data-vars-click-url="https://www.planetizen.com/news/2023/02/121525-cleveland-nations-most-equitably-walkable-city?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=sendto_localnewslettertest&amp;stream=top" data-vars-content-id="bba5f595-8088-44d8-bf2d-07e917ac0982" data-vars-headline="Cleveland ranks among safest big metros for walking" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.planetizen.com/news/2023/02/121525-cleveland-nations-most-equitably-walkable-city?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=sendto_localnewslettertest&amp;stream=top" target="_blank">most equitably walkable cities</a>.

News

Public Safety

Here's who qualified for Hillsborough and Pinellas races

Ye's Tampa stop faces pushback

Take the Axios Tampa Bay news quiz!

Tampa Bay ranked among deadliest metros for pedestrians

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

transportation

business

c-suite

retail-news

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

charlotte

salt-lake-city

denver

fort-lauderdale

boulder

kansas-city

austin

chicago

dallas

detroit

washington-dc

atlanta

indianapolis

nashville

nw-arkansas

columbus

hollywood

richmond

san-francisco

boston

des-moines

houston

phoenix

miami

philadelphia

seattle

new-orleans

colorado-springs

huntsville

raleigh

san-antonio

twin-cities

pittsburgh

arapahoe

douglas

san-diego

tampa-bay

portland

cleveland

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

Yacob Reyes

Featured stories

Here's who qualified for Hillsborough and Pinellas races

Cleveland ranks among safest big metros for walking

Ye's Tampa stop faces pushback

Take the Axios Tampa Bay news quiz!

Tampa Bay ranked among deadliest metros for pedestrians