A new report from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA) — Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2024 Preliminary Data — shows that pedestrian deaths in the U.S. declined for the second straight year, but the findings still deliver a stark reminder: there is still work to be done to make streets safer for everyone in communities nationwide.

Drivers struck and killed 7,148 people in the United States last year, enough to fill 31 Boeing 737s. While fatalities were down 4.3% compared to 2023, they were up 19.2% over 2016 and reached a 40-year high in 2022.

Pedestrian deaths are increasing at a rate far faster than overall traffic fatalities. Between 2009 and 2023, pedestrian deaths rose a staggering 80%, while all other traffic fatalities increased 13%.

More than three-quarters of pedestrian fatalities occur after dark. The share of nighttime deaths has skyrocketed recently. Fatal pedestrian crashes at night rose 84% between 2010 and 2023, compared to a 28% increase in daytime fatalities.

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of pedestrian deaths occurred in locations without a sidewalk in 2023. Sidewalks (and other infrastructure like multi-use paths and protected bike lanes) can help protect people walking and biking by providing a physical separation between them and motor vehicle traffic, but they are missing or in poor condition in many parts of the country.

While this recent modest decline in pedestrian fatalities is positive news, deaths are still up nearly 20% over 2016 and urgent action is needed to keep all people safe — no matter how they choose to travel. In order to make our vision for zero pedestrian fatalities a reality, the GHSA suggests doubling down on proven practices: Improved education efforts, effective law enforcement practices, and expanded infrastructure improvements.

PeopleForBikes is working to give everyone safe, fun, and connected places to ride a bike, and improved road safety for people walking and biking goes hand in hand:

Streets with protected bike lanes experience up to 90% fewer injuries per mile compared to those without bike infrastructure

Cities with protected bike lanes see 44% fewer fatalities for all road users and 50% fewer serious injuries

Adding bike lanes to streets can reduce crashes by as much as 49%.

Our annual City Ratings program ranks cities on the safety and connectivity of their bike networks and gives local leaders and advocates the tools and resources to identify areas for improvement and make dedicated investments in safer places to ride. New this year, City Ratings also features an interactive map and database of thousands of planned and proposed bike projects across the U.S., growing support for infrastructure projects that will make a big difference in improving safety for all road users, not just people riding bikes. 

PeopleForBikes also works at all levels of government advocating for policies and legislation that increase funding for bike and pedestrian infrastructure, create laws that make biking safer, and allow more people to choose alternative transportation for their daily travel needs.  

Check out your community’s City Ratings score and use our Bicycle Network Analysis map to see where improvements can be made.

Find bike projects to support in your community that will make walking and biking easier and safer.

Sign up for PeopleForBikes’ advocacy alerts to learn how you can take action for safer streets by supporting new funding opportunities, policy changes, and infrastructure investments.

New Study Highlights Recent Decline in Pedestrian Deaths, But More Work to Be Done

The White Line’s AI-powered platform maps two decades of crash data for people walking and biking, helping communities pinpoint the most dangerous streets and intersections and take action for safer, more connected streets.

In many states, detailed crash data for people walking and biking is scattered, hard to access, or hidden deep within complex government databases. That’s changing with The White Line’s first-of-its-kind, AI-powered platform — a powerful tool for making U.S. streets safer. Using artificial intelligence, the platform compiles decades of fragmented crash records, news coverage, and demographic information, then cleans and analyzes it to reveal powerful insights and patterns that were once out of reach.

Search and download detailed bike and pedestrian crash data from 2001 to 2024.

Pinpoint the most dangerous streets and intersections for people biking and walking.

Track what happens after a crash, including local news coverage, charges filed, and accountability outcomes. 

Drawing from more than two decades of national crash data, state records, census information, and news reports, the platform offers an unprecedented, exportable, state-by-state view of road safety across all 50 states.

Reliable, high-quality bike safety data is essential for transforming local advocacy efforts into real improvements. This new platform can help pinpoint where changes are most needed, from protected bike lanes and safer intersections to effective traffic-calming measures. Armed with accurate information, community members can encourage local leaders to take action and make streets safer for everyone.

See how your community stacks up, then take action:

Check your City Ratings score. Start with PeopleForBikes’ City Ratings to see how your community scores for safe, connected, and comfortable places to ride. Use City Ratings to identify gaps in your local bike network and where improvements will have the most significant impact on connectivity and rider safety.

Explore crash data. Use The White Line’s interactive crash data mapper to identify the most dangerous streets and intersections in your community.

Review local planned bike projects. Combine crash insights with PeopleForBikes’ database of planned bike infrastructure projects to build an evidence-based roadmap for change.

Develop strong talking points. Use insights from PeopleForBikes’ City Ratings and The White Line’s crash mapping tool to create clear, actionable messaging for conversations with local elected officials and decision-makers.

Engage local leaders. Talk to city and county officials about the data you’ve collected and push for safer, more connected bike networks in your community.

Stay informed. Sign up for PeopleForBikes’ news and advocacy alerts so you can take action on opportunities to improve bike safety in your area.

Together, we can make the case for better bike infrastructure and save lives.

New Tool Highlights America’s Most Dangerous Streets for People Riding Bikes

In 2025, our City Ratings program ranked nearly 3,000 cities across the U.S. and around the world on how good they are for biking. This year, our U.S. ratings include 185 new small cities, 51 new medium cities, and five new large cities as a result of splitting New York City into its different boroughs. We collected some of the top-performing newcomers to showcase great cities for biking from coast to coast that might fly under the radar.  

While it’s certainly not an undiscovered secret, we still wanted to give a shout out to Brooklyn for snagging the top spot as the #1 large U.S. city for biking in this year’s City Ratings. Boasting an impressive score of 72, Brooklyn is making dedicated investments in safe and connected places to ride. Not too far behind, Brooklyn’s neighboring boroughs Queens and Manhattan also made it on the top 10 large cities list for 2025, with scores of 63 and 51, respectively. Learn more about America's new best large city for biking here. 

Known primarily for its reputation as a world-class ski destination, Big Sky is quickly gaining recognition for its stunning trail networks and commitment to year-round outdoor recreation. For those staying in town, most destinations are easily accessible by bike, making it easy to leave the car behind. On the mountain, Big Sky Resort features more than 40 miles of gravity-fed trails with more beginner-friendly singletrack just a few pedal strokes away from town. 

Located at the northern end of Napa Valley, Calistoga’s relatively compact layout and laid-back atmosphere make it a perfect destination to enjoy on two wheels. Per Eco Counter, Calistoga  sees an average of nearly 10,000 cyclist and pedestrian trips each day, with 5.6 million trips recorded since 2016. A regional highlight is the Napa Valley Vine Trail, a 47-mile protected bike and pedestrian path that will eventually stretch all the way from Calistoga in the north down to Vallejo in the Bay Area.

Reed City is a major crossroads for Michigan’s vast Rails-to-Trails network, located at the intersection of two premier rail-trails: the White Pine Trail, a 92-mile paved trail running from Grand Rapids to Cadillac, and the Pere Marquette State Trail, a 55-mile multi-use trail stretching between Bladwin and Clare.

While many people might not think of Alaska as the first state to look for great biking cities, Wasilla made a big arrival in its first year included in City Ratings with an admirable score of 53. A regional highlight for biking is the Matanuska Greenbelt, a 33-mile trail stretching from Palmer to Wasilla through boreal forest, farmland, and rolling moraines left by glaciers during the last Ice Age.

2025 City Ratings' Top New Cities for Biking

Pedaling through Wisconsin's capital, Madison, which received a City Ratings score of 61 for 2025.

In 2025, cities across Wisconsin received an average, population-weighed City Ratings score of 48, behind only New York (56) and Alaska (58) as the best statewide scores for biking. We collected some of the best small, medium, and large cities for biking across America’s Dairyland to highlight what makes Wisconsin such a great state to ride a bike. Notably, many of Wisconsin’s highest-scoring locales are smaller, rural towns, proving that great biking doesn’t just happen in large, metropolitan areas.

As Wisconsin’s only large-sized city, Milwaukee placed just outside the top 10 large U.S. cities in our 2025 City Ratings. Still, its two-point increase over 2024 pushed Milwaukee to a score of 50 this year, a critical threshold PeopleForBikes sees as the tipping point to becoming a great place to ride a bike. 

The city recently finished the West Walnut Street Reconstruction Project, which installed raised bike lanes and concrete islands to make biking safer and easier on a heavily-trafficked stretch of road.

Home to the state’s largest university, Wisconsin’s capital city has long been a great city for biking. In recent years, Madison completed numerous projects to make biking safer and more accessible, including a new two-way bike lane on Wilson Street in the heart of downtown as well as new miles of bike-optimized singletrack in Sycamore Park.

Along Wisconsin’s western border with Minnesota, La Crosse boasts an impressive City Ratings score of 65, raising its score more than five points since 2021. La Crosse County is home to more than 100 miles of bike paths and trails, with 15 miles of designated bike lanes and bikeways connecting residents across the city. 

Eau Claire features an expanding network of bike lanes and multi-use trails, with more than 57 miles of paved infrastructure and nearly 20 miles of off-road trails. Highlights include the scenic Chippewa River State Trail, which runs through downtown and connects riders to neighboring communities, as well as Pinehurst Park, a progressive mountain bike park.

New this year, Sauk City made its City Ratings debut as the #3 best city for biking in the U.S. with an impressive score of 90. The small town shines thanks to its accessible downtown and the Great Sauk State Trail, an 11.4-mile rail‑trail built in 2017 that connects Sauk City and Prairie du Sac along the scenic Wisconsin River.

Situated on the shores of Chequamegon Bay at the very northern tip of Wisconsin, Ashland offers riders a scenic, 14‑mile waterfront trail that stretches all the way to the nearby city of Washburn (2025 City Ratings score: 89), with stunning views of Lake Superior available throughout the ride.

Just across the Illinois border in south-central Wisconsin, Lake Geneva features amazing options for riding around town as well as bigger adventures on a road or mountain bike. The popular Lake Geneva Bike Path has five different color-coded options for bikers to explore, connecting residential areas, parks, and downtown.

Community members gather in Paradise Valley’s Central Park for Sunday Sweat. Photo courtesy: RED Development

Welcome to PeopleForBikes’ Building Better Communities series, where we highlight the people building great communities across the U.S. — with bikes in mind. Meet the developers building to meet the growing demand for walkable, bikeable neighborhoods, alongside a breakdown of the approaches these visionaries have adopted and their key takeaways on how other communities and developers can build better for bikes and the people who ride them. 

Other Building Better Communities Stories:

Like many of its counterparts built in the 1960s and 70s, by the mid-aughts, the 100-acre Paradise Valley Mall in eastern Phoenix experienced a substantial drop in retail activity as shopping habits shifted and tenants moved out. Meanwhile, the mall began attracting substantial community activity — in the form of mallwalking and more.  "[Neighbors had] organized all these walking and fitness and stroller groups," says Jeff Moloznik, senior vice president of development at Phoenix-based RED Development. "It went from being a place that people shopped to a place that people used as a community hub."

In 2021, in response to the mall’s long-term decline and the community’s desire for revitalization, Phoenix designated the mall's footprint as an Urban Core for Paradise Valley, one of the city’s 15 villages (not to be confused with the bordering city of Paradise Valley). RED pounced to acquire the property. "That Urban Core designation allows for the kind of density and multimodal transportation we are developing,” Moloznik says. Converting existing commercial properties into more productive uses is a hot topic in real estate in many parts of the U.S.

As part of the redevelopment process, RED carried out extensive community engagement. "A theme we heard over and over and over was how much the community will all miss being able to walk in the mall for a form of exercise and community togetherness," says Moloznik.

To recreate the access and activity the Paradise Valley community had enjoyed, RED planned pedestrian and bike connections as a central part of the site's street network, laying out a grid extending in all four directions with extensive shading from trees to beat the Arizona heat.

Today, most of the mall’s buildings are being demolished and its parking lots repurposed as RED redevelops the site. A walkable, bikeable center is emerging to offer neighbors the togetherness and activity they crave.

The Opportunity: Redeveloping for Active Life and Many Uses

With its promise of integrating residential with retail, the Urban Core designation made for an attractive redevelopment prospect that could retrofit a bikeable, walkable community onto the old mall site. PV — as the site is now known — will offer a similar convenience, community, and quality of life to the suburban village of Paradise Valley, usually reserved for city dwellers.

Biking and walking were key to RED’s planning. First, because the surrounding community had been clear about its desire to have a place for exercise and gathering. Second, because Phoenix’s long-term master plan calls for the extension of the village’s internal network of bike and walk pathways, better connecting to city streets and surrounding neighborhoods. Nearby multi-use paths like the Arizona Canal Path and Cross Cut Canal Path further connect the village to the rest of Phoenix and Maricopa County. Third? Growing e-bike adoption. "There's so much [e-bike] activity that happens all around these residential neighborhoods and to be able to have the feeder connections into ours is something that we see a tremendous amount of value for," Moloznik says. Onsite, covered bike parking, racks accommodating bikes of different shapes and sizes, and repair stands at north and south entrances all send a clear “Welcome” message to bicyclists.

PV will expand in phases over the next several years, but the bike-walk grid is already in place, and Moloznik reports the network is well-used. “We feel like we were able to enhance the opportunity for the community to be active.”

"[Transit also] played a major factor in RED’s early interest and the theme was front and center from the very beginning of our community engagement process,” Moloznik says. Plans for Valley Metro’s light rail include an extension to the village, now slated for launch by the end of the decade thanks to Maricopa County voters, who last fall voted to continue funding for system expansion. 

The PV project has attracted area favorites like Flower Child and Wren House Brewing as well as heavy hitting national chains like Whole Foods and Sephora.		

The Return on Investment: Fast and Friendly

PV’s first 400 residential units came online in early 2025 as RED continues to add more residential, retail, and office space over the next decade, offering studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. When its residential phases are complete, PV will offer 2,500 units.

Moloznik says RED has been surprised by how quickly PV is being built out and leased across residential, retail, and office uses — a testament to strong demand for walkable, mixed-use living. Residents and visitors now enjoy the kind of lifestyle typically associated with urban centers, where they can easily walk from a coffee shop to lunch and then to happy hour. “It has a stickiness that doesn't happen when you're focused on a single destination." 

Moloznik attributes that stickiness to the site's active nature, where customers amble around rather than dashing through. "Our retailers absolutely love it, especially our restaurants, because customers are coming in and spending more time on the property and in their establishments. Restaurant sales are already top of market in the Phoenix area."   

Another of RED's newest nearby projects is Biltmore Fashion Park, an open-air mall steeped in Phoenix history. The mall was initially created by the Wrigley family as a shopping experience for guests of their Biltmore Hotel. RED's work on Biltmore Fashion Park involves adding density and enhancing its walkable and bike-friendly elements.

Both the Biltmore and PV are family friendly, with ample open space and year-round programming like outdoor movie nights and fitness events. "We just did a big outdoor painting class for kids and families in our Biltmore project, where we had different stations set up by various different artists and kids could move from one to another throughout it and essentially take an art class," says Moloznik. 

"We're definitely out looking at other opportunities to replicate this, because a lot of communities are in a similar situation with the regional mall. RED views the PV and Biltmore Fashion Park projects as evolutions in mixed-use development,” he adds. “Giving a suburban community the opportunity to have an urban core is something that's going to be really sustainable long term... because it does give the surrounding community a sense of place."

Lessons for Developers and Local Governments

One boon of building in Phoenix that Moloznik thinks other cities could do well to emulate is its Planned Urban Development (PUD) process, which offers developers the flexibility to write their own zoning standards — so long as those standards exceed the city's existing code. "The entire point of it is to encourage higher quality development in exchange for modifying the existing code standards and requirements. You're rewarded for that by having the additional density that allows you to create more value." RED is permitted to build up to 120 feet in much of the PV site. That flexibility includes setbacks, which Moloznik says is crucial for providing ample room for bicycling and walk pathways. 

Another form of flexibility Phoenix’s PUD offers is its shared parking model, allowing RED to include less parking and more revenue-generating features and amenities. The policy recognizes that in a multi-use development "various uses (office, residential, retail, etc.) have different peak parking demand times throughout the day.” For example, when some residents drive to work or errands elsewhere during the day, visitors and retail customers can use what would otherwise be unoccupied spaces.

Coordinate Cross-Departmental Goals and Processes Through Strong Civic Leadership

"You have to work with the streets department, the fire department, the police department, the water services department. [But department] goals aren't necessarily aligned with each other," Moloznik explains. That means one critical element for a development like PV is strong leaders to ensure work is well-coordinated across those many departments. 

Value the Investment in Community Engagement

Community engagement is required by Phoenix’s PUD process. The timeline can be long, and took about two years for PV. Moloznik thinks developers should embrace it. “Something that I think goes against the grain of a lot of development is to get in front of the community leaders early and often and even if you don’t know what you’re going to ultimately end up doing.” 

Moloznik is emphatic about the value of community engagement — especially if developers do their own research and outreach. “There’s no filter to what you hear when you’re there listening. I think it dispels a lot of the fear that people have in the community when you’re coming in and disrupting what exists. From our experience, the best outcomes for the community and for our properties is when we do that.”

The Future of Urban Planning Is Here

Building Better Communities: Paradise Valley’s Transformation From Aging Mall to Bikeable Community

2025 marks the eighth year of PeopleForBikes’ City Ratings, our annual program ranking the quality of bike networks in thousands of cities across the U.S. and around the world. With nearly a decade of data, we’ve used historical results and improvements made to City Ratings scores over time to identify the common threads that great cities for biking share. We unpacked those similarities into six principles known as our SPRINT framework, which any city can leverage to help make biking better in their communities.

In an effort to help cities and towns of all sizes improve biking and their City Ratings scores using SPRINT, we’re highlighting the city of Chicago, which received a City Ratings score of 11 for 2025, to offer lessons on how to become a great place to bike.

Chicago completed more than 30 bike projects in the past three years but its network remains largely fragmented, with only a modest six-point improvement in its overall score in that same time. Many projects remain disconnected from other parts of the bike network, while dangerous intersections pose a significant safety challenge. In addition, the city’s default speed limit remains higher than ideal for safe, low-stress biking. Recent investments demonstrate encouraging momentum and commitment, but more coordinated action is needed to establish a truly connected, low-stress bike network.

Speed is a leading factor in traffic fatalities across the country, and reducing vehicle speeds is one of the simplest yet most effective first steps to improving road safety for all users.

Recently, a proposal to reduce citywide speed limits in Chicago stalled in a close City Council vote of 28-21. While concerns regarding signage costs and enforcement prevented its passage, local advocates, with the help of PeopleForBikes, are regrouping with a new strategy to move the bill forward. Statewide, Illinois Senate Bill 2070 aims to reduce speed limits in urban areas. This bill is especially important because many of Chicago’s most dangerous roads are state-owned and wouldn't be addressed by city-level legislation alone.

Lessons From High-Scoring Cities: In 2020, Minnesota’s Twin Cities — Minneapolis and St. Paul — reduced speed limits on city streets to 20 mph. Both cities ranked in the top 10 large U.S. cities in this year’s City Ratings, with scores of 72 and 62, respectively. In Hoboken, New Jersey, Mayor Ravi Bhalla launched the city's Vision Zero effort in 2019 with the goal of eliminating all traffic deaths and injuries in the city by 2030. As part of these efforts, Hoboken lowered its citywide speed limit to 20 mph in 2022.

Chicago has put in the work in recent years to build more protected bike lanes, with numerous completed and funded projects included in our National Bike Project Tracker. Unfortunately, intersections remain high-stress and many of these new projects are not connected, both issues that we’ll address later on. 

Lessons From High-Scoring Cities: Seattle, which received a 2025 City Ratings score of 66, introduced plans to make many of its protected bike lanes more durable by replacing flexible posts with hardened barrier materials. This work will help improve separation between people biking and driving, reduce ongoing maintenance needs, and strengthen Seattle’s overall bike network.  

For years, cities have attempted to solve traffic congestion by widening roads and dedicating more space to car parking. We now know that wide roads and excessive car parking encourage more people to drive, which worsens congestion and air pollution. Wide roads also facilitate speeding, leading to more crashes and serious injuries and fatalities. By rethinking how streets best serve people, city leaders can free up space for other valuable uses like protected bike lanes, wider sidewalks, bus rapid transit lanes, restaurant seating, or trees and benches.

Lessons From High-Scoring Cities: San Francisco (2025 City Ratings Score: 63) improved safety along California Street by reducing a four-lane roadway down to three, also known as a road diet. California Street is part of the city’s Vision Zero High-Injury Network that consists of the 13% of all San Francisco streets that account for 75% of severe and fatal collisions in the city.

Many crashes that occur between people driving and biking happen at intersections — in 2022, more than 40% of urban bike fatalities in the United States occurred at intersections. Chicago has several examples of places that would greatly benefit from protected intersections.

Lessons From High-Scoring Cities: Completed in fall of 2023, the 30th Street and Colorado Avenue protected intersection in Boulder, Colorado (2025 City Ratings score: 70) provided much needed safety, accessibility, and mobility improvements to one of the city’s busiest intersections. Learn more about the importance of protected intersections and how to build them with this resource from NACTO.

Many of Chicago’s new protected bike lanes don’t connect to other parts of the city’s bike network, creating fragmented segments that don’t safely allow people to travel to everyday destinations by bike. 

A protected bike lane on Clark Street begins and ends on a high-stress road, making it difficult to connect to other parts of Chicago’s bike network.

Lessons From High-Scoring Cities: In Minneapolis (2025 City Ratings score: 72), the city’s bike plan is based around the construction of an all ages and abilities bike network, with specific plans to implement bikeway connections to and between regional destinations and adjacent city networks.

Since no federal or state standards for cataloging and measuring bicycling infrastructure exist in the U.S., City Ratings relies on OpenStreetMap to measure the quality of a city’s bike network. Greater accuracy in OpenStreetMap data leads to a more accurate City Ratings score and can help cities determine benchmarks for success and improvement. Learn how you can help improve the accuracy of OpenStreetMap data for your city here.

Between 2024 and 2025, Baltimore updated OpenStreetMap data for numerous service roads citywide, adding more low-stress routes to its network. This updated data helped Baltimore improve its City Ratings score from 31 in 2024 to a score of 41 in 2025. 

Six Things Any City Can Do to Improve Bicycling

Topics

Bike Networks

PeopleForBikes at Work on Bike Networks

News

New Study Highlights Recent Decline in Pedestrian Deaths, But More Work to Be Done

New Tool Highlights America’s Most Dangerous Streets for People Riding Bikes

2025 City Ratings' Top New Cities for Biking

Wisconsin: A Great State for Biking

Building Better Communities: Paradise Valley’s Transformation From Aging Mall to Bikeable Community

Six Things Any City Can Do to Improve Bicycling