Metro Orlando was notoriously known as the deadliest place in America for pedestrians until Smart Growth America released its Dangerous by Design 2016 report. The Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford area dropped from first to third on the latest list of the most dangerous U.S. metro areas for pedestrians, with a 9.6-point reduction on the Pedestrian Danger Index compared with its 2014 ranking.
PDI is a calculation of the share of local commuters who walk to work and the most recent data on pedestrian deaths.
The weighted national PDI average is 73.4. Metro Orlando’s current PDI score is 234.7, which is actually down by 20.7 points since 2011—a positive indication, but the region still has a long way to go before it can call itself pedestrian-friendly.
While the latest Dangerous by Design report shows that most metro areas’ PDI numbers improved since 2014, states became slightly more dangerous. Florida remains the leading offender, with eight of the top 10 most dangerous metro areas in the United States.
Dangerous by Design cites poor street design as a critical factor in fatal vehicular-pedestrian collisions. Streets prioritizing drivers often don’t account for people on foot. People will walk along streets whether they adequately serve pedestrians or not.
