Pedestrian safety: D.C. ranks No. 32

The region ranks No. 32 out of the 52 largest metro areas on a list by the Transportation For America of the most dangerous metro areas for walking.

But the region ranks eighth on the same group's rankings of the top 10 metro areas with the highest share of pedestrian fatalities. The data used for both rankings comes from 2000.

In its Dangerous by Design report, Transportation For America finds that many of the nation's pedestrian deaths could have been prevented. The group finds roads are designed to encourage fast traffic flow rather than to protect people on foot or bicycle.

The Baltimore-Towson area was ranked No. 29, just above Washington and its suburbs on the most dangerous pedestrian areas rankings. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News ranked 39th.

Nine out of the 10 most dangerous metro areas for walking are in the South, including the most dangerous city, Orlando. In fact, the top four most dangerous cities were in Florida. The others are Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville.

Transportation for America is calling on Congress and local governments to act to increase spending on pedestrian-friendly projects.

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