Is Seattle the Friendliest Pedestrian City in America?

"Ghost Pedestrians" courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives

If recently released rankings of big cities in America are to believed, yes. Seattle is the #1 Big City in the U.S. for Pedestrian Safety. And to that we say--remind us never to walk anywhere else in America, ever again.

In the lifetime we've called Seattle home, Seattle has never seemed less friendly or safe for pedestrians. Every time we step into the street, be it in a marked crosswalk or not, we feel like we're taking our life into our own hands. And it seems like we don't go a month without having to palm or pound some car's hood or shake our fist at a driver that narrowly avoided our toes.

We've been unlucky enough to not be narrowly avoided before, and we're not looking for a second taste of bumper and windshield. So we guess this study should thrill us, but the results just don't match the reality we see every day crossing the streets of Seattle. We know we're not New York City or L.A., where you should write and sign a will before crossing an intersection, but surely there has to be some other big city that is actually safe for pedestrians.

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By Abbey in News on July 23, 2008 12:00 PM

Comments [rss]

redwoodtree

You can't walk down the same street more than a couple of weeks before it's closed off and you have to find some other street to walk down, which then gets closed off too, and soon you're walking blocks out of your way and doing bizarre zig-zags to go in a straight line.

I'd rather run the risk of getting hit and be able to walk the same path TWO WEEKS in a row.

Once again, now the path to Seattle Center from the Mercer 358 stop just shut down as of Wednesday. Another detour...

thank you construction!!!

John Knee

Just spit on them. Next time they will pay attention and not come so damn close!

Downtown Seattle is better than Downtown Bellevue but that is not saying much. I have seen drivers honk/curse at people who are in the crosswalk even!

And don't get me started on the bike messengers who can't seem to share the crosswalk (Ok, there was just one guy who did this and he got pissed at me when I jokingly said "Share the road, dude").

Just kidding about the bike messengers but there are way too many pedestrians who jaywalk or wait for a car to let them into the crosswalk when they have the right of way. This creates an adversarial attitude on the part of some drivers and so these drivers think all pedestrians are idiots who should be run down.

Silverstar

If you think it is scary for ordinary pedestrians, try being in a wheelchair or using a walker. Man, I have almost been hit more times than I can count. Particularly dangerous to wheelchair users are SUV's because they are so high up and we are down so low. And I notice that at uncontrolled intersections Beamers and Lexus's will damn near hit you, even though they are supposed to stop for any pedestrian in an intersection, with a crosswalk or not. Hey, I can't walk the extra two blocks to get to an intersection with a walk light, I can barely get across to the drug store as it is. Strangely, the people in the rusted out Hondas will stop for you. Maybe the ticket makes more of an impact on their budget than it does on the Beamer guys. I have taken to carrying a kayaker's airhorn with me on my scooter or with my walker.

The best time I ever had, though was when I was in an intersection, and a car came out of nowhere at me and then laid on the horn. And I got to yell at them, "Go honk yourself, I have the right of way."

jwhieger

Seattle probably tops the list on slowest and most brazen jaywalkers.

Most of our jaywalkers wouldn't last a second in Europe.

ChrisB

To expand on my previous comment (recap: ha!), I live on Queen Anne, and all those All Way Stops... I'm more than a little defensive at this point. It's a rare week when I don't watch as a driver swerves around me while I'm in the intersection. Or stops suddenly when they realize that, no, they can't just make it. And aren't those apologetic shrugs so cute? "Sorry I didn't see you in the middle of the road at noon on a clear day with the sun at my back!"

Then again, I've also seen a lot of people turn the wrong way down Mercer, so my opinion of drivers could just be off.

Honestly, I'd have to say it probably depends on the neighborhood and that the ones that allow drivers the most "autonomy" are the scariest to walk in: Queen Anne can be a nightmare, downtown's a breeze, the U District is pretty good so long as you have the courage to legally jaywalk, Wallingford can be good depending on how congested it is... and so on.

Simonian

Considering the vast number of residential streets with no sidewalks and the equally vast number of uncontrolled intersections in residential areas, I'd have to agree with ChrisB on this one. Sheesh.

ozmafan

i think any fear of safety one might have here as a pedestrian is just the nature of drivers in big cities and nothing specific about seattle. i've done LOTS of walking around this city, and while having narrowly avoided being hit a couple of times, have never felt any general lack of safety in my travels. if you walk smart, i think you'll be safe most (though not all - again stupid drivers are out there in all cities) of the time