Las Vegas ranked as one of the most dangerous cities for pedestrians

Las Vegas has won the dubious distinction of being named one of the nation’s most dangerous cities for pedestrians.

Sin City was rated as the third worst city for pedestrians in a study released last week by shoe company Kuru.

The report said Las Vegas had 3.41 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people, only trailing No. 2 Jacksonville, Florida, (3.54 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people) and No. 1 Albuquerque, New Mexico, (4.68).

Two Arizona cities rounded out the Top 5 most dangerous cities for pedestrians with Mesa ranked No. 4 (2.96) and Phoenix No. 5 (2.96).

The five safest cities for pedestrians were New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Nashville, Tennessee.

Las Vegas also received low scores in walkability and overall safety, netting scores of 42 and 29 out of 100, respectively. Erin Breen, director of the Road Equity Alliance Project, chalks up the bad walkability score to how cities built around accommodating cars after World War II.

“I think the biggest reason for that is that our cities are newer, built post-WWII when cars became the center of the traveling universe,” Breen said. “Looking at both downtown Las Vegas and Henderson, the two areas are pre-WWII, the footprint is completely different. Those areas were built for people and blocks are short, streets are narrow and there are places to cross the street.”

Deadly year

Through Aug. 10 in the Metropolitan Police Department’s jurisdiction, there have been 39 pedestrian deaths on city streets. That’s up from the 38 pedestrian deaths seen over the same period last year.

Of the pedestrians deaths thus far this year, 25 are attributed to pedestrian error, down 22 percent compared with the same period last year, where 32 of the pedestrian fatalities were tied to pedestrian error, according to Metro data.

Last month, a pedestrian died after being struck by a box truck on Eastern Avenue south of Owens Avenue. Metro said the 38-year-old woman was struck by the vehicle while crossing Eastern outside of a marked crosswalk.

In May, a Las Vegas teenager was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver while in a crosswalk outside of Arbor View High School. The city of Las Vegas has since added additional pedestrian safety measures at the school and plans to add a crossing guard at Arbor View, as well.

On top of pedestrian deaths, other vulnerable road user fatality counts include nine cyclists, up 40 percent over the five killed during the same time last year. Metro also this year for the first time began tracking electric bicycle and electric scooter deaths, with two and three deaths, respectively. Two of the five deaths involving e-bikes or e-scooters were determined to be a result of rider failure, according to Metro data.

Safe streets

Las Vegas is also looking at adding more complete street projects in the city, including wider sidewalks, improved lighting, bus stop upgrades and dedicated bike lanes. One such project on Stewart Avenue, between 6th Street and Nellis Boulevard, is in the works. Tentative plans call for the project beginning in 2027, with completion pegged for 2030, according to the city of Las Vegas.

Projects like the one on Stewart Avenue are one of the most effective ways Southern Nevada could tackle pedestrian safety issues, Breen said.

“For me, the biggest issue we have is our road network design and how fast vehicles travel with few places for those walking and biking to travel safely,” Breen said. “This is also not something we can’t fix. The current thought of narrowing travel lanes and using the extra space to add infrastructure for those on foot and bike is so easily doable, with support from decision makers. We can fix streets and make travel safer for all road users, and I am hopeful through the Safe Streets for All funding and programs we will finally see some projects that will prove it can work in Las Vegas the same as this approach has worked across the world.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X. Send questions and comments to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com.