Tucson, Glendale among most dangerous U.S. cities for pedestrians, cyclists
A study ranked Tucson and Glendale among the most dangerous U.S. cities for pedestrians and cyclists. Arizona cities make the top 10 in both categories.
Watch: Will Middle East chaos send inflation skyrocketing again? | 9 mins
PHOENIX — Tucson and Glendale ranked among the most dangerous U.S. cities for pedestrians and cyclists in a recent study.
In a Consumer Affairs study released Tuesday, it compared the top-100 most populous cities with data gathered in 2023.
Tucson was the seventh-most dangerous for pedestrians and fifth for cyclists whereas Glendale was eighth for both pedestrians and cyclists.
Arizona as a whole was specifically rated dangerous for cyclists. Besides Glendale and Tucson, Mesa and Scottsdale came in sixth and 13th in that category, respectively.
Data revealed about Tucson, other Arizona cities
In 2023, Tucson tallied 1.47 cyclist fatalities per 100,000, which is more than four times greater than the national average.
Tucson drivers were rated 20th-worst of more than 320 U.S. cities by Consumer Affairs in 2024, aligning with the previous year’s findings.
In regard to cyclist safety, Phoenix joined Tucson and Glendale to occupy three of the study’s top-10 most dangerous cities. Mesa then accompanied Tucson and Glendale in the top-10 most dangerous for pedestrian safety.
Which U.S. cities were the most dangerous, the safest?
Stockton, California and New Orleans, Louisiana were deemed the most dangerous for cyclists while Albuquerque, New Mexico and Memphis, Tennessee were the most hazardous for pedestrians.
Lincoln, Nebraska and Omaha, Nebraska were the safest in the study for pedestrians and a number of cities were tied for top marks in cyclist safety including Riverside, California and St. Louis, Missouri.
Tips for drivers to keep pedestrians, cyclists safe
Consumer Affairs offered several tips for drivers to improve their pedestrian awareness such as being more cognizant of their blind spots and expecting the unexpected, especially while in residential areas.
Related
Chandler City Council approves lane upgrades to improve bike safety
Phoenix adds 100th HAWK crosswalk to protect pedestrians
Apache Junction officer resigns after misusing Flock cameras for personal reasons
Man injured in early morning shooting in north Phoenix
Heidi’s Village launches pilot program to find homes for long-stay shelter dogs
2 men arrested in connection with south Phoenix house party shooting that left 1 injured
Comments
7 Comments
Wow ! No not that report, the story, that's true.
I was just thinking back to the first two stints, I had living in Tucson, in the late 70's and even the mid- 80's.
I wrote back to my friends in LA how bicycle friendly Tucson was. The bike paths were glorious and even most streets, bicycle lane or not, were very safe to bike traffic. And, I myself had lived in the West end to beach-side of LA, which was proliferated with all sorts of Bike venues and traffic yet; for the most part, I felt safer riding in Tucson.
Now the bicycle paths are filthy and dystopian hellscapes at any given time ( I won't go into details but, those of you who transit such, know what I'm talking about).
Now crossing the street, at any major intersection, even in conjunction with the walk sign, by foot or by bike, you put your life at risk, every single time. I would prefer to jaywalk at a section of the road where, I am not afforded a false sense of safe passage.
I swear, it seems like once people are in their cars, pedestrians (as well as bike riders) suddenly become a hindrance or an unknown and unexpected creature that should not be on the streets.
A few years back, I was hit while on my bike, in a crosswalk (and not at an intersection) , with the light red and traffic in the other lane at a complete standstill. Full impact, How I hobbled & rode away from that accident, only the Angels know.
Roads have been prioritized for cars for so long, and our urban design has been designed for cars for 80 years that many just assume roads are by definition there for the benefit of cars. Of course a different design could prioritize foot or bike traffic, if people didnt have driving distances to get anywhere or anything. Would you let a six year old walk anywhere by themselves or ride a bike in the current design?
Most, if not all have sidewalks, and bike lanes. That should be fine for the majority of the common sense public. Road themselves were meant for cars. Cars stay where they belong, Peds and bikes stay where they belong. Crossing mid block at 10:00p dressing in black wandering across a 45mph street is not common sense. p/s I walk 2-3 miles a day for exercise outside. I never have issues with cars except they blow red lights a ton.