"Dangerous By Design" ranks Minneapolis first in pedestrian safety

Photo: Andrew Kelsall

Minneapolis want you to walk

You want to die trying to cross the street? Move to Florida. At the very least, head south of the Mason-Dixon line. If you don't want to take your life in your hands while out for a stroll, just stay right here in Minneapolis. That's what the good folks at Transportation for America say in their new report, "Dangerous By Design."

The study looked at 52 metropolitan areas with populations of over 1 million people. The 10 worst metros are areas "dominated by lower density and automobile-oriented development patterns, which include high-speed urban arterials that are particularly hazardous for walking."

1-Orlando-Kissimmee, FL
2-Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
3-Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL
4-Jacksonville, FL
5-Memphis, TN-MS-AR
6-Raleigh-Cary, NC
7-Louisville/Jefferson County, KY
8-Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
9-Birmingham-Hoover, AL
10-Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA

The 10 best metros "tend to be older northeastern or northern states, or places with a generally compact development pattern. Metros such as Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; and Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN are investing to build a well-developed network of sidewalks and crosswalks and have many people walking and bicycling." (Yes, we love our bicycles.)

43 Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH
44 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
45 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
46 Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN
47 Rochester, NY 1.11
48 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
49 Pittsburgh, PA 1.04
50 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA
51 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH
52 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI