Albuquerque has become less dangerous for pedestrians, but New Mexico has the highest pedestrian fatality rate in the nation.
New Mexico had 112 pedestrian fatalities in 2002 and 2003 combined, according to a study released Thursday.
The national rate for pedestrian fatalities is 1.68 per 100,000 residents per year. New Mexico's average rate is 3.01.
The Albuquerque metro area was cited in the study as the most dangerous area in New Mexico with a combined 40 pedestrian deaths in 2002 and 2003. The city grew less dangerous than in previous years, the study states, with a 2.69 pedestrian fatality rate per 100,000 residents compared with a rate of 3.99 from 1994 to 1995. Las Cruces and Santa Fe had six pedestrian fatalities each in 2002 and 2003 combined.
The study, "Mean Streets 2004: How Far Have We Come?" analyzes pedestrian fatality rates and the federal transportation funds spent on pedestrian safety.
Judith Espinosa is the director of UNM's Alliance for Transportation Research Institute and one of the study's researchers.
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Annually, she said, 30 percent of people nationwide walk to school, including university students.
A lot of times pedestrians and bikers think they can just do what they want, but cars are often going too fast, she said.
Tuesday, a UNM student attempting to cross Central Avenue was hit by a motorist. According to police, the motorist did not see the student walk onto the street. The motorist was not cited because there were no witnesses who could state whether the student was in a crosswalk, police said.
Espinosa said many people fail to use crosswalks and tend to walk in the medians.
She said there should be more crosswalks in parts of Central Avenue and University Boulevard so there is more encouragement for students to cross and cars know to go slow.
She said the streets could be safer by broadening sidewalks, adding catwalks or more crosswalks on busy streets, extending counter times, enforcing traffic laws, and developing better ordinances so motorists will slow down, especially in school areas.
"A lot of this is common sense, the way we make pedestrian amenities," she said.
The federal government spends an average of $90 per person per year on highways and roadways. About 82 cents of that is spent on pedestrian facilities per person per year, according to the study.
"Nobody's saying you have to spend billions and billions of dollars," Espinosa said. "It's a matter of being practical and finding some decent solutions."
Between 1998 and 2003, New Mexico spent less than 25 cents a year per person on pedestrian and bike safety, according to a news release.
"Considering that 20 percent of our traffic fatalities are pedestrians, spending less than a quarter per person to prevent these deaths just isn't enough," Dolph Barnhouse, executive director of 1000 Friends of New Mexico, said in a news release.
Espinosa said pedestrians and motorists are both at fault for the fatalities.
Espinosa said she hopes state and local governments will take notice of the study's results and find ways to make the state safer for pedestrians so more people are encouraged to walk.
