A new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) estimates that the number of walkers killed on roadways hit a 33-year high in 2017, even as all other kinds of traffic deaths decreased. Curbed Urbanism Editor Alissa Walker sits down with Alyssa Julya Smith to talk about what this means and what cities can do to help bring those numbers down.
According to GHSA’s 2017 data, five states—California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Arizona—account for 43% of all pedestrian deaths, and Arizona had the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities.
Walker explains that its speed not distraction that actually kills pedestrians. She says the idea that smartphones and marijuana has led to the increase in pedestrian deaths is unlikely the case.
Hollywood closed out an up and down 2023 with “Wonka” regaining No. 1 at the box office, strong sales for “The Color Purple” and an overall $9 billion in ticket sales that improved on 2022’s grosses but fell about $2 billion shy of pre-pandemic norms.
2024 is the Year of the Dragon for the Lunar New Year, which kicks off February 10. To commemorate the occasion, the U.S. Post Office unveiled a new dragon stamp.