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Nasville, TN (WSMV) — The days are getting shorter which means it’s becoming more dangerous for people walking or biking, and everyone needs to stay vigilant.
As Nashville grows so does the amount of traffic.
“It’s getting worse so there’s a lot of people looking at other ways to get around,” Executive Director of Walk Bike Nashville Nora Kern said.
Walking, biking and even riding scooters are options.
“We’re coming up to the darker months, so October, November and December are when it gets darkest earlier and tend to be the months with the most fatalities,” Kern said.
Kern says 84% of pedestrian fatalities happen at night.
“Be sure to be extra visible and have extra lights on at night,” Kern said.
From 2014 to August 2018 1,636 pedestrians were injured and 78 pedestrians were killed in crashes in Nashville.
Pedestrian deaths are on the rise in the city with 23 deaths last year and 17 already this year.
‘It’s a really high number and we’ve seen that number really increasing over the last 10 years,” Kern said.
Kern says Walk Bike Nashville is focused on getting safer infrastructure.
“only about 19% of our streets have sidewalks and there’s a pretty similar dearth of safe crosswalks,” Kern said.
A topic that should come up during a transportation summit with the mayor next Wednesday.
“We know our infrastructure is lacking and not safe, and so it really needs to be addressed with urgency,” Kern said.
Kern says next Saturday there will be a rally to highlight pedestrian safety.
For more information about Walk Bike Nashville visit their website here: walkbikenashville.org
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