Indianapolis roads are one big speedway
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Indianapolis drivers move faster than the national average on major pedestrian roadways, making those streets more dangerous for people on foot.
Driving the news: Just 27.5% of Indianapolis' major pedestrian roadways have average vehicle speeds under 25 mph, compared to the national average of 36%, Axios' Joann Muller reports.
- The finding is based on a report from StreetLight Data, which tracks mobility trends using anonymized cellphone data and other sources.
- The group's objective was to understand how fast vehicles are actually going and the impact on pedestrian safety, creating what it calls a "Safe Speed Index."
The biggest danger zone? Fast-moving roads alongside busy retail and service areas with lots of foot traffic.
- In urban areas, such arterial roadways make up about 15% of all roads but account for 67% of pedestrian deaths, per StreetLight Data.
Zoom in: Indianapolis is taking steps to reduce speeds.
- The city in 2019 set the speed limit at 25 mph for all of downtown.
- More recently, the City-County Council defied state Sen. Aaron Freeman and banned right turns on red lights downtown, while also giving the Department of Public Works leverage to expand the policy to other high-traffic intersections.
- The council since March has moved to set a 25 mph speed limit in more than 20 other locations and is considering reducing speed limits at greenway crossings.
Reality check: It's difficult to change drivers' behavior on multilane streets, which are common in Indianapolis, and with few police resources devoted to traffic enforcement.
The big picture: At least 7,508 pedestrians were struck and killed by cars in the United States in 2022 — the most in 41 years — per a separate report from the Governors Highway Safety Association.
- Nationwide pedestrian fatalities have skyrocketed 77% since 2010, compared to 25% for all other traffic-related deaths, the report also found.
- Indiana had 1.6 pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents in 2022, according to the GHSA.