The mean streets of SF
More than 800 people are hit by cars in San Francisco each year, making it one of the most dangerous cities in the state – and possibly the country – for pedestrians.
This is a city that last year was named the best walking city in the country by the American Podiatric Medical Association and Prevention magazine because of the many city agencies assisting in walking issues. Yet more than two pedestrians are hit each day on average, accounting for about a quarter of all injury crashes and, according to some reports, nearly half the city’s traffic fatalities. …
Pedestrian advocates say the 800 pedestrian collisions a year – a number that has held fairly steady in recent years – is far too many, no matter how it’s calculated.
“You don’t really need to know more than the number of people being hit,” said Elizabeth Stampe, executive director of Walk San Francisco. “The absolute number in issues of health is what really matters.”
While the health effects of traffic include pollution, noise, stress and higher rates of asthma hospitalizations, pedestrian injuries are a blunt measure of the human cost of driving. …