Janette Sadik-Khan and Seth Solomonow
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death doesn’t speak well o the technology’s capabilities in city centers
alive with thousands o human actors—a jumble o people walking,
biking, making deliveries, panhandling, and so on.
Transportation o¾cials can’t wait for driverless cars to make streets
safe. Sidewalks won’t extend themselves; crosswalks won’t magically
appear. Countries can’t bet their futures on the promise that better
cars or better drivers will reverse the damage caused by a century o
car-obsessed roadway design. I cities want infrastructure that ac-
commodates all users, they need to lead by example and reclaim, re-
design, and reconstruct their roads.
Government and public health o¾cials routinely face problems that
exceed their capacities and powers. Tra¾c deaths are not one o them.
Indeed, tra¾c-related fatalities are unusual in that their causes are as
straightforward as their solutions. Eliminating most health hazards on
the roadway doesn’t require new technologies or unsustainable invest-
ments. It requires changing how we view tra¾c deaths and injuries,
treating them as avoidable byproducts o a crisis in urban design rather
than an inevitable feature o modern life. There is already a revolution
underway to redesign city streets to a new standard. But there is still
much work to be done and a growing population that needs protection.∂