The City of Phoenix isn’t exactly what you would consider safe if you’re a pedestrian.
According to a report by Channel 12 News in Phoenix, 112 pedestrians were killed in the past year. That sobering figure has resulted in the unanimous approval by the Phoenix City Council to approve some $2 million in funds going toward making safety improvements to traffic and pedestrian safety measures.
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) estimates that the current figure of 112 pedestrian deaths marks a 67 percent increase in the last five years and more than a 200 percent increase over the past decade. According to additional ADOT statistics, 2.77 people are killed every day. That means that on average, at least one1 person loses their life on Arizona‘s roadways every nine hours.
Wednesday’s vote has approved the funds for the fiscal year 2020 to 2021. Improvements will include raised medians and High-Intensity Activated crosswalk (HAWK) signals in specified areas of high pedestrian use or areas where several collisions have occurred, additional street lighting, funding research at Arizona State University to determine the cause of the sharp rise in pedestrian-involved crashes, educational programs for school children in both Spanish and English, and age-appropriate safety items for school children and others in the community who need them.
