ORLANDO, Fla. — A new pedestrian safety study ranks one Florida city among the most dangerous places in the country for people traveling on foot.
Jacksonville finished 34th out of 35 major U.S. cities examined by KURU Footwear, placing ahead of only Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The study reported 3.05 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people in Jacksonville. The city also received a Walk Score of 26 and an overall pedestrian safety score of 20 out of 100.
Jacksonville was the only Florida city included in the rankings. Orlando, Tampa and Miami were not evaluated, meaning the report does not show how Central Florida compares with the cities on the list. The methodology does not explain why those cities were omitted.
All 10 cities at the bottom of the rankings were located in the South or Southwest. Albuquerque ranked last, followed by Jacksonville, Mesa, Phoenix and Tucson.
Boston was named the safest city for pedestrians, followed by New York, Louisville, Philadelphia and Milwaukee. Milwaukee recorded the lowest pedestrian fatality rate in the study at 0.92 deaths per 100,000 people.
The commercial study combined preliminary 2024 pedestrian fatality data from the Governors Highway Safety Association with each city’s Walk Score, which measures how easily residents can reach businesses and other amenities on foot.
Researchers assigned cities up to 50 points for their pedestrian fatality rates and another 50 points for walkability.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that pedestrians use sidewalks and marked crosswalks whenever possible, remain alert around driveways and parking lots, and never assume a driver can see them. Drivers should slow down near crosswalks, follow posted speed limits and never pass a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian.
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