With a new app, WalkScore, you can rate the areas in your community in which you walk and you can even get some inside information on other pedestrian-friendly areas.
According to Transportation for America, the Walk Score app lets you see the good, the bad and the risky.
Now, Walk Score is asking for your help in getting a consumer’s view of these areas. The app now allows users to enter feedback, including pictures and safety issues. It’s available for the iPhone and can be accessed at WalkScore.com. Users can even comment and vote on the additions.
Our New York City pedestrian accident lawyers understand how vital this kind of information can be to someone in the city. Many of us walk for pleasure to as a primary means of getting around. The app is helping residents and visitors to the area to pick the safest, most enjoyable and most convenient way to get to where they’ve got to be.
“We’re excited, because this is the first thing we’ve done that moves beyond numbers to the esthetic and qualitative,” said Matt Lerner, co-founder of Walk Score.
The app is also helping to put more “eyes on the street,” hoping to draw more attention to problem areas across the country. Pedestrians can catch information in real time so we can all see problem areas, and with limited funds this is helping advocacy groups determine which projects are most beneficial.
In the state of New York, there were more than 300 pedestrians who were killed in traffic accidents in 2009, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). They’re not cheap either. Each year, traffic accidents cost the city’s economy close to $4.5 billion. According to the New York City Department of Transportation, pedestrians are actually 10 times more likely to be killed in a traffic accident than an occupant of a motor vehicle.
It’s so serious that pedestrians accounted for more than half of all the traffic fatalities that were on the books from 2005 to 2009. Sadly, most of these accidents could have been prevented! More than a third of all fatal pedestrian accidents in the city in 2009 involved a distracted driver.
We’re asking all drivers to do what they can to help to protect our pedestrians. We’re not asking you to go out and replace sidewalks or make other improvements. We’re just asking that you pay a little more attention out there while driving through the city. Remember that pedestrians have rights to our roadways and we all need to recognize their rights. Keep an eye out — their safety relies on your safe driving!
Making that extra effort as we head into winter and the busy holiday shopping season means each of us will face less risk of being involved in a tragedy.
The Law Offices of Nicholas Rose, PLLC offers free consultations to accident victims. Call 1-877-313-7673 to speak with someone about your case and to discuss your rights today!
More Blog Entries:
“LOOK” Campaign to Reduce Pedestrian Accidents in NYC, New York Injury Lawyer Blog, September 20, 2012
New 6 ½ Avenue in Midtown to Better Protect Pedestrians, New York Injury Lawyer Blog, September 11, 2012
