Memphis Flyer

BLDG

Memphis is the 11th most dangerous city in the country for pedestrians, according to a report released Wednesday.

Produced by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Street Coalition, the report called Dangerous by Design ranks states and big cities using a Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI). The PDI measures how deadly it is for people to walk in a certain place based on the number of people struck and killed by drivers while walking.

The number of people living in an area and the number of people who walk to work there are used to calculate the PDI. Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System used for the report dates from 2008 to 2017.

Tennessee comes in at the 12th most dangerous state for pedestrians, but Memphis is the state’s only city to make the list of cities. With 297 pedestrian deaths between 2008 and 2017, Memphis’ PDI is 184, up about 31 points from the number reported in the 2016 Dangerous by Design.

[pullquote-1]

Other cities on the list include Jackson, Mississippi at number 10, North Little Rock in 19th place, and Orlando, which comes in at the most dangerous city for pedestrians in the United States and has a PDI of 313. The report shows that the majority of the most dangerous cities for pedestrians are in the South, concentrated in Florida. Cities on the list outside the South include Detroit, Albuquerque, and Bakersfield.

Across the country, drivers struck and killed a total of 49,340 pedestrians between 2008 and 2017, which is the equivalent of a large jet of people crashing and dying every single month during the nine-year period, according to the report.

Of the nearly 50,000 pedestrians who were killed nationwide between 2008 and 2017, the report cites that older adults, people of color, and people in low-income communities represent a disproportionate number.

It is almost twice as dangerous for people over 75 years old than it is for the general population to walk, the report says. While, people of color, specifically American-Indian and African-American pedestrians, have a PDI of 33 and 18.3 respectively, compared to the general population with a PDI of just under 15.

Finally, analyzing where pedestrian fatalities occur relative to the median household income of the surrounding area, the report found that people die while walking at much higher rates in lower-income communities compared to higher-income ones.

2019 Dangerous by Design

“This is unsurprising, given that low-income communities are significantly less likely than higher income communities to have sidewalks, marked crosswalks, and street design to support safer, slower speeds, also known as traffic calming,” the report says.

Since 2009, pedestrian deaths have risen steadily. Meanwhile, traffic fatalities for those in cars decreased during those years.

The report concludes that people aren’t walking more, but people are driving slightly — or 8.1 percent — more than in 2008.

2019 Dangerous by Design

The report suggests that instead of allowing streets that are dangerous for pedestrians to continue to be built that the federal government should prioritize creating safer streets by implementing performance measures, producing more high-quality data on street conditions where fatalities occur, and dedicating more funding to projects that support walking, biking, transit, and other modes of transportation.

“This year, Congress has a major opportunity to reshape our mobility future as they begin the work of reauthorizing our federal transportation bill in 2020,” the report reads. “To address our continuing safety problems, they must create policies that change the way we fund, design, and measure the success of our streets nationwide to make sure the safety of all people who use the street including people walking, is our highest priority.

“It is our hope that this report will inspire communities across the country to take action. Policymakers at the federal, state, and local level can and should do more to ensure streets are designed and operated to protect the safety of all people who use them regardless of age, ability, income, race, ethnicity, or mode of transportation.”

TripSavvy

Memphis is TripSavvy’s best overall travel destination for 2019.

The travel site named Memphis the best overall travel site among other categories aimed at certain kinds of travelers, like outdoor enthusiasts (Rapid City South Dakota), history buffs (San Antonio, Texas), and geeks (Los Angeles).

TripSavvy based its results on information from its first-ever Editors’ Choice Awards, an analysis of 60,000 hotels, restaurants, and attractions around the world. Memphis, the site says, is a “hotbed of activity.”

“Formerly abandoned lots and buildings are now fun spots for tourists and locals,” reads the post. “In an old Sears distribution warehouse you can dine in a dozen just-opened restaurants including one that taps refugees to do the cooking.

”An overgrown yard has turned into Railgarten, a 1.5-acre, adult playground with a tiki bar, ping pong room, ice cream parlor, diner, sandbox, stage for live music, and much more.”

Noting that “old establishments are new again,” the city also won points for a recent renovation at the Pink Palace Museum, new exhibits at the Memphis Zoo, and The CMPLX, the gallery space and studio for The Collective.

New “must-see sites” Downtown include, The Hu Hotel and the Old Dominick distillery. Also, “nature lovers” will love the city’s network of bike paths, the site says.

“If you’ve visited Memphis before, it’s time to go back,” reads the TripSavvy site. “The city is alive with change; you might not recognize it.”

Shelby County has received a near-record grant from the federal government to help customers here pay their utility bills.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said Tuesday that the county has received $19 million through the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), in one of the largest such grants ever received.

The funds are available through the “Keep The Lights On” program and those applying don’t need to have received a cut-off notice to qualify. Depending on family income and household size, a family can receive up to $650 in assistance.

“It is far too easy for a family to fall behind on their utility bill,” Harris said in a statement. “The aim of this program is to alleviate the stress on families of keeping their homes lit and heated before they receive a cut-off notice.”

To qualify, Shelby County residents must complete an application and be living at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. For example, the income for a family of four would need to be $37,650 or lower.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, residents can call (901) 222-4299 on Mondays from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Seniors aged 65 years and older can also apply for utility assistance through the Shelby County Community Services Agency. The agency can be reached at (901) 222-4200. The funds were provided by a $20,000 grant from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Nissan Electric/Facebook

The 2019 Nissan Leaf.

A group hopes to see thousands of new electric vehicles on Tennessee roads in the next 10 years and recently published a roadmap to guide them there.

The Drive Electric Tennessee Roadmap was devised by 30 organizations across the state, including Memphis, Light, Gas & Water. Leaders from the cities of Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga participated in the project but not Memphis, according to the report. But the report notes that being on the contributors list “does not constitute an endorsement of the roadmap.”

The report says that while Tennessee is an automobile manufacturing hub, including two companies — Nissan and Volkswagen — that do or will make electric vehicles here, consumers hear haven’t yet bought in.

The state’s electric vehicle population in 2017 was less than 5,000, the report says, less than 0.1 percent of the overall light-duty vehicle market.

“Drive Electric Tennessee aims to increase this number to at least 200,000 (electric vehicles) by 2028,” the report says. “This is an ambitious but achievable options goal based not he projections outlined in this roadmap.”

Drive Electric Tennessee Roadmap

A graph shows the projected electric vehicle consumption over the next 10 years.

To get there, the plan suggests adding to the state’s electric-vehicle-charging infrastructure, which currently includes 800 stations. “Range anxiety,” the group says, can be barrier to adoption. So, the group says charging stations should be located at homes, apartment buildings, workplaces, parking garages, restaurants, malls, and more.

“It is important for Tennessee drivers to feel comfortable when they are going about their everyday personal and business lives in an (electric vehicle), whether they are driving across Memphis or making the trip from Nashville to Knoxville,” reads the report.

The group says “most people have still never ridden in or driven” an electric vehicle. So, they want to push a public awareness campaign to change customer perceptions about them. That campaign would include “ride and drive” promotions, educating fleet owners, and consumer education. 

State and local governments, utilities, and corporations could pitch in to establish and promote electric vehicle best practices and policies across the state, reads the report.

The group also hopes Tennessee auto dealers will expand their offerings to meet customer here where they are. For example, the report says the Ford F Series truck is the top registered vehicle type in the state. However, most of the electric vehicles offered here are small-large passenger vehicles like the BMWi3, Nissan Leaf, and Tesla Model S.

The project is slated to get underway this year and continue to 2028.