Pedestrian traffic deaths rise in Indiana despite national drop
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There were fewer pedestrian deaths on U.S. roads in the first half of 2024 compared to a year prior, but Indiana was one of nearly two dozen states that saw an increase.
Why it matters: Cities are trying to reduce pedestrian deaths — so many of which are utterly avoidable — through "Vision Zero" programs, lower speed limits, "traffic calming" road designs and more.
Driving the news: 3,304 pedestrians were killed on roads nationwide between January and June 2024, per a new Governors Highway Safety Association preliminary report.
- That's 88 fewer deaths than during the same period in 2023, but 1,072 more than during the same period in 2014.
Stunning stat: "Between the first half of 2014 and 2024, pedestrian deaths have risen at a rate almost seven times faster than population growth," the report finds.
Zoom in: There were 49 deaths in Indiana in the first half of last year, according to the report.
- That's 10 more than the same period in 2023 — a 26% increase.
- Indy Pedestrian Safety Crisis, a group that tracks local pedestrian deaths, injuries and other safety incidents, recorded 41 deaths in the city last year.
State of play: The Indianapolis City-County Council established a Vision Zero Task Force last year with the goal of "eliminating all fatal and serious injury crashes on city streets by 2035."
- It is tasked with creating and adopting an action plan by July 1.
The latest: During a City-County Council meeting last month, task force members discussed recent traffic calming projects that may serve as models for future Vision Zero work — such as the makeover of a section of College Avenue and the Michigan Street road diet.
- At that meeting, a row of chairs in the audience was left empty and labeled with the names of several pedestrians killed in the last year.
- Jakob Morales, the advocacy committee chair for Bike Indianapolis, told Fox 59 he feels his group's concerns are being taken seriously but that they'll continue to monitor the city's progress.
- "People will continue to be killed," he said, "so we need to act urgently."