WalkSanDiego President Jamie Moody describes the Mean Streets 2004 at a December 2, 2004, press conference. >> larger view

A report by the nationally-based Surface Transportation Policy Project, released in December 2004, shows that walking is 15 times more dangerous than riding in a car or airplane, and 27 times more dangerous than riding public transit.

The report reveals that, in the last 10 years, pedestrian injuries and fatalities in the San Diego region have increased 9.2% relative to the number of walkers. At the same time, the San Diego region spends just 33 cents per capita per year on pedestrian and bicycle safety, less than half the national average of 82 cents.

The report was released locally by WalkSanDiego during a press conference at Ninth and Island Streets, one block from PETCO Park in Downtown San Diego. Redevelopment areas of downtown were cited as one of the few bright spots in a continuing decline in walking conditions region-wide.

At the press conference, President Jamie Moody remarked, "As this report shows, the San Diego region remains among the most dangerous places to take a walk. Not only has walking become more hazardous here, but 22.5% of our traffic deaths in 2003 were pedestrians, which places us third in the nation behind New York City and Miami." The national average is 11.4%.

Nationally, the danger to pedestrians increased 5% in the last ten years. Over that period, deaths declined 12.8%, but walking to work - the most reliable indicator of walking activity - decreased far more - 24.9%.

Walking is the most popular form of exercise. However, the decrease in walking and other physical activity contributed to a staggering 73% increase in the incidence of obesity over the same 10-year period.

Cities in the western U.S. are generally more dangerous for pedestrians due to their sprawling designs and wide, high speed arterial streets. But the STPP report shows that metropolitan regions that have committed themselves to improving pedestrian safety have reduced deaths and injuries by large margins. Salt Lake City, for example, decreased pedestrian crashes 44.2% relative to walking activity during the 10 year period. Mayor Rocky Anderson has championed pedestrian safety since the city’s poor showing in the 2000 Mean Streets report.

The Mean Streets 2004 report received wide media coverage in the San Diego region, and throughout the nation. The report and state-by-state data reports are available on the STPP website, www.transact.org.