Josh Brown

joshbrown@tennessean.com

The headlines in recent weeks alone have hinted at the problem: A police officer killed by a motor home while he was directing traffic. A woman in Murfreesboro who was hit by a police car. A 13-year-old who died after a car struck him while he changed a tire on the interstate.

A report released this week identified the Nashville metro area as one of the most dangerous for pedestrians. The study by Smart Growth America, an advocacy group on pedestrian and urban design issues, looked at the number of pedestrian deaths and how often people are walking in those cities.

The Nashville metro area — with 210 pedestrian deaths between 2003 and 2012 — ranked 15th most dangerous out of the 51 areas studied. Memphis was fifth worst, behind four metro areas in Florida.

The group behind the report wants to highlight the number of deaths as a way to bring change in urban designs it labels as dangerous.

"We are allowing an epidemic of pedestrian fatalities, brought on by streets designed for speed and not safety, to take nearly 5,000 lives a year — a number that increased 6 percent between 2011 and 2012," Roger Millar, an official with Smart Growth, said in a news release.

Millar said many of those deaths could have been prevented through better policies and safer designs, such as more sidewalks, high-visibility crosswalks, refuge islands and reduced traffic speeds.

The Nashville area has long lagged behind in building sidewalks and other facilities needed to make walking safer, said Leslie A. Meehan, director of healthy communities for the Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.

In addition to some places that have no sidewalks or narrow ones, some intersections are too far apart and require pedestrians to walk long distances to find a crossing, Meehan said.

"People are going to cross where it's convenient for them to cross," she said. "If there's not the appropriate infrastructure there to help them cross safely, that's one of the issues."

The report also highlighted that, among the pedestrian victims of traffic accidents, people older than 65 were overrepresented.

"Older persons account for one in every five pedestrian fatalities and have the greatest fatality rate of any population group," Nancy LeaMond, an official with AARP Inc., said in the release.

As more people look to walking and bicycling as alternatives to get around, the need for safe sidewalks and more facilities for pedestrians becomes even more important, Meehan said.

"We're at a very vulnerable time right now," she said. "We have a lot to catch up on."

Adam Tamburin contributed.

Reach Josh Brown at 615-726-5964 and on Twitter @joshbrownnews.