WITHIN a two-block radius on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, three pedestrians have lost their lives in separate traffic accidents since Jan. 1. Nineteen more have been killed elsewhere in the city since the beginning of the year. Those 22 are just the latest in the city’s epidemic of traffic fatalities. Last year 176 pedestrians were killed by cars and trucks in the city, according to police data, the most since 2008.

Recently, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new campaign against traffic fatalities, called Vision Zero, including more ticketing, lower speed limits and redesigning intersections. Meanwhile, the police have cracked down on jaywalkers and put up signs and barriers encouraging people to cross with the light, and the department is investing in equipment like laser speed guns and speed and red light cameras. These are all good ideas. But the problem isn’t just inadequate policing, distracted pedestrians or reckless motorists. It’s that the design of our streets does not match the way they are being used.

In urban planning circles, city streets are generally considered to be among the safest kind of roadways. They tend to have narrower lanes, a lot of right angles and a lot of general hustle and bustle — “social friction,” as transportation planners call it. There are trees, parked cars and other “fixed objects,” all things drivers need to navigate around with more precision than, say, a wide open country road.

New York City is full of such streets. So why are pedestrian fatalities increasing?

Consider where the majority of the pedestrian fatalities are happening. Last year, Queens was the deadliest borough for pedestrians, with many of the deaths happening on wide, fast-moving arteries like Northern Boulevard, the Cross Island Parkway and Queens Boulevard.