Transportation for America has released a study ranking the most dangerous metropolises for pedestrians and Seattle ranks as the 5th safest out of the 52 areas in the US with over one million residents.
Fewer than 1 pedestrian is killed each year per 100,000 residents (5th lowest rate in the US), despite 3.1% people walking to work (10th highest in the US).
Click the link above for more details, including information on fatalities for those over 65 and on federal dollars spent per person.
It seems like graffiti is everywhere in the city, especially in urban areas. We’re all impacted by it financially because $2 million of our tax dollars are used to remove it. However, as we observe our surroundings on our walks, us pedestrians probably see more graffiti than most people.
The city auditor’s office recently did a study on graffiti and came back with some interesting statistics, including that public property is tagged more often than private. Also, sticker graffiti is more common than spray paint graffiti.
39% of survey respondents said graffiti was not a problem, while about the same percentage said it was a medium to very big problem.
The study also includes a few recommendations. Visit the Seattle Crime blog for more details.
The city of Seattle just finished the most comprehensive study ever done in a US city on improving public spaces. The architecture firm that performed the study presented their preliminary findings this past Tuesday.
You can download a PDF version of the presentation from the International Sustainability Institute.
The presentation starts with some key findings about where pedestrians go downtown, noting that the waterfront is undervisited partially due to poor connections between the waterfront and downtown. It also maps the dull area in the central part of downtown between the retail core and Pioneer Square.
The presentation then moves on to some recommendations:
There are a few motivating graphics that show how adding greenery and other pedestrian amenities could transform downtown, specifically King Street Station and 1st Avenue.
It also shares some lessons from New York City’s conversion of Times Square to reduce vehicle traffic.
The easy suggestions it makes are to:
Seattle has a lot of potential to make the downtown area great and this study seems to have identified a lot of good ways to do that. The full results will be out in March.
You can watch the presentation here. The Seattle PI’s In Pioneer Square blog has a good overview as well.
