Texas pedestrian deaths surged 15 percent from 2020 – 2021 and were up again in 2022, new data shows.
With pedestrian fatalities rising nationwide, the issue is not limited to Texas. But the Lone Star State has a walkability problem. In a state built around the personal automobile, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio rank near the bottom of the most walkable U.S. cities.
Pedestrians lack protection and are among the most vulnerable road users. It is estimated that pedestrian deaths now account for 1 in 5 Texas traffic fatalities. Even when pedestrian accidents aren’t fatal, they can cause serious, life-changing injuries.
National Pedestrian Deaths Reach 40-Year High
The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) released a new report showing that U.S. roadways are extremely dangerous places for pedestrians.
According to GHSA, at least 7,508 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in 2022, continuing an upward trend in recent years and representing the most pedestrian deaths since 1981.
From 2010 – 2021, pedestrian deaths went up 16% while all other traffic fatalities increased 10%. More alarming, says GHSA, since 2010 pedestrian fatalities have increased 77%, compared to a 25% increase in other traffic fatalities.
Texas Pedestrian Deaths Trending the Wrong Way
Texas pedestrian deaths have been trending the wrong way as well. Texas had 5,370 crashes involving pedestrians in 2021, resulting in 843 deaths and 1,467 serious injuries, reports the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
Year-over-year, Texas pedestrian deaths increased 15% from 2020 to 2021, and they’re up from 661 in 2019. Only California had more pedestrian fatalities than Texas in 2022.
Texas also grades out poorly in terms of pedestrian deaths per 100,000 residents. It has a higher pedestrian death rate than the national average and in 2022 had the ninth highest rate (2.85 deaths per 100,000) in the GHSA analysis. And Texas ranked 12th when measuring the year-to-year difference in the total number of fatalities.
Texas Cities Rank Poorly For Walkability
Walkability is an urban planning concept that measures how friendly an area is for pedestrians.
Walk Score, an online company that ranks the walkability of national and international cities, identifies seven factors that make a neighborhood walkable, including having a center, parks, and public spaces; proximity between residences, schools, and workplaces; and streets that are specifically designed for pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transport.
Texas cities do not fare well on Walk Score’s U.S. rankings. At the top of the list are San Francisco, New York, and Boston, which have respective scores of 89, 88, and 83. By comparison, Dallas has a walk score of 46, while Houston scores 47.5 and San Antonio 36.9.
While these Texas cities have some walkable areas, large portions of them are generally unsafe for walking, especially outside of their historical cores.
Since the end of World War II, Texas cities have sprawled outward as their populations have exploded. Texas is the fastest-growing state in the country, and most of this growth is concentrated in the suburbs and exurbs (?), where transportation revolves around the motor vehicle. To travel into nearby cities like Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, suburban dwellers must take roads and highways, which hurts walkability.
