Honolulu, tops for pedestrian deaths, might take lesson from Jane

Carol Forsloff - Honolulu continues to be one of the most dangerous places for people to walk, according to reports by individuals and groups from its newspaper to well-known attorneys. Perhaps a lesson might be taken from Jane.

In May "Jane's Walks" will help people explore their cities and learn more about them, including where neighborhoods are safe, authentic and livable.
These free walking tours are held annually in cities from Boston to Los Angeles and were organized originally by college students from the students at the University of Utah and are named after Jane Jacobs, an urban planner..

 
Stephen Goldsmith, Associate professor of city and metropolitan planning at the University, maintains Jane's Walks is a very important project, to allow people to look at what is needed in different locations to see what might be needed for improvement.

 
The walks are named for Jacobs, a city lover, with more and more cities added daily to the schedule. Jacobs was an expert in the study of cities and believed in having local residents provide input in the development of neighborhoods. Her valuable work is considered The Death and Life of Great American Cities, which she wrote in 1961. In it Jacobs outlines new and interesting ideas on how cities develop, evolve and fail that helpoed many architects, planners and politicians target what might be needed in their areas.

 
Jacobs is especially known for looking at options in urban areas, ways of allowing people to live without heavy reliance on automobiles.

 
Last year in November Transportation for America released a report examining the safest places for pedestrians after examining 360 metropolitan areas. What they found was the 10 most dangerous metropolitan areas for pedestrians in 2007-2008 were Orlando, Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville, Florida; Memphis, Tennessee; Raleigh, North Carolina; Louisville, Kentucky; Houston; Birmingham, Alabama; and Atlanta.

The three safest cities were Seattle; Portland, Oregon; and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
If you're a senior, the place you are most likely to be killed if you are a pedestrian is Honolulu, Hawaii., according to chronicles that continue regularly in the Honolulu Advertiser. 

There were 120 pedestrian fatalities in the period 2003 - 2006. According to legal experts and others,the problem continues even as groups like "Jane's Walks" advocate for innovations to stop pedestrian deaths and improve livability.
The schedule for "Janes Walks" can be found here.