How safe do you feel walking in your city? One of the riskiest metro cities for walking in South Carolina is in the Upstate, according to Transportation for America. The Spartanburg area ranks third behind Sumter and the Myrtle Beach area. According to the Dangerous by Design report, South Carolina had 207 pedestrian fatalities in 2007-2008. More than 4,500 Americans died last year while crossing the street, walking to school, going to a bus stop, or walking to the grocery store.
Executive director of Partnership for Active Living, Linda Ringo tells News Channel 7, Spartanburg ranks high in risk for pedestrians likely due to three factors. Ringo says, “We do have a lot of visual impaired. We are a very rural community, which it gets expensive, so it gets expensive where you are putting sidewalks in communities where there is not a lot around it, and we also have a very high number of low income people who cannot afford a car." She says the city is making progress, installing crosswalk countdowns, posting warnings for drivers to stop at crosswalks and adding sloping curbs for strollers and the visually impaired.
Spartanburg Public Safety Captain Randy Hardy, says the city is making progress. Hardy says, “It's very safe to walk in the city of Spartanburg, even at night." He says stimulus money will allow the city to install more crosswalk countdowns, crosswalks and signs.
Ringo says the City is off to a good start, and she says the County is to be commended for the upcoming Highway 9 widening project in Boiling Springs, which will include bike lanes and sidewalks; but she says there is more work to be done. According to Ringo, “People still do feel uncomfortable, especially outside of the downtown area and we still have a number of pedestrian fatalities which says there is still an issue."
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