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b"The numbers are staggering, saddening, maddening.\\nFrom 2010-2019, 53,435 people were killed by drivers while walking. That\\u2019s up 45% from the previous decade. In 2019, the last year for which we have complete data, 6,237 people were struck and killed...the equivalent of more than 17 per day. The years from 2016-2019 were the four deadliest years in nearly three decades. And early numbers indicate that 2020\\u2014a year in which driving was down 13% due to the pandemic\\u2014actually saw an increased death rate.\\nWhat\\u2019s going on? With so much money and lip service (\\u201cSafety is our top priority\\u201d) paid to safety, why do these numbers so consistently go the wrong direction?\\nFor more than a decade, our friends at Transportation for America have been analyzing the data and drawing attention to the epidemic of pedestrian deaths. Their latest report, Dangerous by Design 2021, describes the ten-year increase in deaths as \\u201ca failure of our government at nearly all levels.\\u201d And they urge policymakers to reconsider or abandon an approach that simply isn\\u2019t working:\\n\\nMany states and localities have spent the last ten years focusing on enforcement, running ineffectual education campaigns, or blaming the victims of these crashes, while often ignoring the role of roadway design in these deaths. Meanwhile the death count has continued to climb year after year. States and localities cannot simply deploy the same playbook and expect this trend to change\\u2014they need a fundamentally different approach to the problem. They need to acknowledge that their approach to building and operating streets and roads is contributing to these deaths.\\n\\nWe are pleased to welcome Beth Osborne, the Director of Transportation for America, to this week\\u2019s episode of The Strong Towns Podcast. Before joining Transportation for America, Osborne served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation. She also worked in multiple congressional offices, served as the policy director for Smart Growth America, and as the legislative director for environmental policy at the Southern Governors\\u2019 Association.\\nIn this episode, Strong Towns president Chuck Marohn talks with Osborne about the Dangerous by Design 2021 report, about how engineers and policymakers know what it takes to #SlowTheCars and reduce deaths, and about why they yet fail to act on it. They discuss the need to make behaving safely the easiest thing to do, and the mixed message we send drivers about pedestrian safety. And they discuss the good news/bad news about bipartisanship around this issue, whether to be optimistic about a Mayor Pete D.O.T., and what local leaders can do right now to make their own streets safer.\\nAdditional Show Notes:\\n\\nDangerous by Design 2021\\n\\n\\nTransportation for America\\n\\n\\nSmart Growth America\\n\\n\\nCOVID and the Curb\\n\\n\\nDangerous by Design Webinar (March 25)\\n\\n\\nBeth Osborne (Twitter)\\n\\n\\nCharles Marohn (Twitter)\\n\\n\\nStrong Towns content related to this issue:\\n\\n\\u201cPedestrian Deaths Are Up 45% in the Last Decade. When Is Enough Enough?\\u201d by Daniel Herriges\\n\\n\\n\\u201cWhat Can We Hope For from a Mayor Pete D.O.T.? (Podcast)\\n\\n\\n\\u201cThis Will Change How You Hear Traffic Reports,\\u201d by Daniel Herriges\\n\\n\\n\\u201cThe Most Important Pedestrian Safety Document You've Never Heard Of,\\u201d by Angie Schmitt & Mike McGinn\\n\\n\\n\\u201cNow Is the Time to End Traffic Fatalities. Here's a Simple Plan to Do It.\\u201d by Charles Marohn\\n\\n\\n\\u201cHave Coronavirus Shutdowns Prompted an Epidemic of Reckless Driving?\\u201d by Daniel Herriges"