DENVER — After reaching a record low number of pedestrian deaths in 2009, a AAA study found that pedestrian deaths increased by over 80% across the United States.
Colorado reached a record number of crash deaths in 2022, with 764 reported and 115 involving a pedestrian, according to CDOT. The number of fatal crashes was lower in 2024, with only 684 reported deaths, but 120 of those deadly crashes involved a pedestrian.
While cars have become safer than ever — equipped with advanced features like collision avoidance systems — Skyler McKinley, the Regional Director of Public Affairs for AAA, argued that pedestrians are facing more dangers on the road. Pedestrian fatalities in Colorado increased by a staggering 161% over the last decade, prompting AAA to investigate the root causes behind this troubling trend.
McKinley said the rise in pedestrian deaths coincided with a growing emphasis from Denver and state leaders on reducing car dependency and encouraging walking, biking and public transit. Colorado, and particularly cities like Denver, have invested heavily in building bike lanes and other infrastructure aimed at encouraging people to use alternative modes of transportation. However, the push to walk more is not being matched with the same level of investment in pedestrian infrastructure, creating a dangerous disconnect.
McKinley said the most dangerous roadways for pedestrians in Colorado are urban arterial roads like Colfax, Lincoln and Broadway. These roads are designed to move traffic quickly, with multiple lanes and high-speed limits. Unfortunately, these same roads serve as key intersections for pedestrians who need to cross to reach their destinations and they aren't designed with pedestrian safety in mind.
Data from Denver's High Injury Network revealed that 50% of Denver's fatal crashes occurred on only around 5% of Denver streets. The AAA report noted that many of these streets are arterial, cutting through historically disadvantaged neighborhoods. The report argued that the best way to reduce traffic fatalities in Denver is to redesign these streets to be people friendly.
"We're building bike lanes and protected infrastructure and making some infrastructure choices to try to get folks out of their cars," McKinley said. "But we're not doing it evenly across the transportation network."
AAA called for measures that would slow traffic down, such as reducing lanes, adding curb bump-outs to narrow intersections and lowering speed limits. Additionally, improving lighting in pedestrian-heavy areas is critical, given that most fatal accidents in the past year happened at night.
Cities like Denver have already begun to implement some of these changes through their Vision Zero program, which aims to reduce traffic fatalities by redesigning roads and increasing traffic safety measures. McKinley praised these efforts, but noted that more needs to be done.
"Unless we really take a good, hard look at the infrastructure, we're not going to see that the changes we want to see in the fatality data," McKinley said.
AAA noted a few additional trends in the data, including finding that most pedestrian crash deaths occur “well outside of the downtown core, and more than half happened more than four miles from the city center.”
Data from the state showed that most deaths occurred in areas that have been neglected in terms of safety infrastructure. The most dangerous areas for pedestrians are often located near older, less-developed neighborhoods where public infrastructure investments are minimal. These areas tend to have less lighting, fewer crosswalks and intersections that aren't designed for pedestrian safety.
AAA also encouraged pedestrians to take extra precautions at night, which they described as the "riskiest time for pedestrians."
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