Brevard Ranks 12th Most Dangerous Metro Area For Pedestrian Safety
By Space Coast Daily // November 30, 2022
Brevard County has been found one of most dangerous places for pedestrians in the country, Florida Today reports. In a study covering pedestrian deaths per 100,000 residents between 2016-2020, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville ranks 12th, while seven other metropolitan areas on the list are found within the state.
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach takes the top spot, while Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater comes 4th, Jacksonville 6th, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford 8th, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach 14th, and North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton 19th.
High-speed, multi-lane arterial highways to blame
The reason why so many metro areas in Florida rank highly is fairly simple, according to report author, Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America, as “the bulk of growth and development there occurred after 1960, where low-density sprawling land uses and high-speed, multi-lane arterial highways have been the dominant form.
Southern cities really began to grow after air conditioning became common in homes, which was about the same time automobiles were in common usage,”explained Osborne. “In 1950, Atlanta had half a million residents. This jumped by a million by 1980 and another million by 1993. Orlando was under 100,000 in 1950, but 500,000 by 1978 and a million by 1995”, for example.
Brevard’s major traffic crash corridors
Traffic collisions are unfortunately a common occurrence with 340,747 occurring in Florida so far in 2022. Whether it’s a minor accident or one that causes serious injury, those involved should seek professional advice to help them win any compensation deserved.
Additionally, pedestrians and drivers should also take particular care when in known deadly crash corridors and intersections – the Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization recently ranked Brevard County’s major pedestrian-crash corridors from 2016-20 (excluding Interstate 95).
Palm Bay Road from Babcock Street to Robert J. Conlan Boulevard in Palm Bay ranked as the most dangerous with 4.6 crashes every year on average. Next, U.S. 1 from State Road 528 in Cocoa to State Road 405 in Titusville came second with 4.2 crashes annually, while the State Road A1A from State Road 520 in Cocoa Beach to North Atlantic Avenue in Cape Canaveral ranked third with 4.0 crashes every year.
Lastly, the fourth most deadly crash corridor is State Road A1A from Eau Gallie Boulevard in Indian Harbour Beach to the Pineda Causeway in South Patrick Shores (3.2 annual crashes), while State Road 50 from Interstate 95 to U.S. 1 in Titusville came last with 3.0 crashes annually.
“The Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization, which provides regional transportation planning for the Palm Bay-Melbourne and Titusville urbanized areas and coordinates planning efforts for local jurisdictions and transportation authorities, is currently reviewing Smart Growth America’s recent study and its correlation to Brevard County pedestrian crash data,” commented Abby Hemenway, Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization public information and outreach manager.
Ultimately, Osborne hopes the report will encourage Florida to look seriously at the state’s poor road safety results and take real steps to improve road safety for pedestrians and drivers alike.
