Last year, 78 people died from traffic violence in the city of St. Louis. That’s according to Trailnet’s 2022 crash report. They say that the number is the second-highest number of fatalities in any year since recording started, and that it’s more than double the number of deaths 10 years ago.
Trailnet’s Sam McCrory joined KMOX’s Total Information AM to talk about more of the findings of the crash report. He explained that some streets in the city — particularly Grand — have seen especially high rates of death and injury due to cars.
“That street has been the most dangerous corridor for people walking for the third year in a row, you know, that's something that needs to be changed,” he said. “If we know that a street is dangerous year after year after year, there needs to be something done about it.”
But, he added, there are fixes to make streets safer. One example he gave was Natural Bridge, which was notoriously dangerous — until MoDOT fixed it. “And now,” he said, “it’s not even on our high crash corridor list this year.”
Another thing the report found was that pedestrian fatalities between 2020 and 2022, between both the city and the county, are up 228%.
“That's kind of the alarming trend that we're seeing not just in the county, but in the city as well,” McCrory said. “And it's also a nationwide thing. A lot of other cities like St. Louis are seeing this kind of increase in pedestrian crashes, specifically fatality.”
He added that he’s thankful that city leaders have put money into increasing street safety. Mayor Tishaura Jones is allocating $40 million in ARPA funds toward the issue, with some of that going towards infrastructural changes. McCrory said those changes are key.
“100% I believe that that link is there. And it really does show on the data,” he said. “For example, we found that for last year, 2022, 95% of pedestrian fatalities in St. Louis County, occurred on roads marked as 35 miles an hour and higher. That shows that speed is a huge factor when it comes to pedestrian fatalities when it comes to the likelihood of someone being hit and killed in a crash.”
He also said that arterial roads that are wide and have high speed limits — like Grand, Gravois, Kingshighway, St. Charles Rock Road or Natural Bridge — account for a high number of pedestrian fatalities. He added that the money going toward the issue needs to be allocated intentionally and given to the places that need it most, like North City.
Hear more from Trailnet’s Sam McCrory on Total Information AM:
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