Crashes that killed or severely injured car passengers and pedestrians have become more common each year since 2020, according to a report by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments.
To help local governments make roads safer, the council has prepared a plan that could help cut the number of vehicle and pedestrian crashes in half by 2050.
The 150-page Gateway to Safer Roadways report and action plan make the region eligible for up to $8 million in federal road improvement grants.
Researchers from CBB, a Creve Coeur-based transportation consulting firm, compiled the report after monitoring accidents involving motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists in the eight-county St. Louis region from 2018 to 2022.
The report includes recommendations for improving problem intersections and suggests that officials allocate 40% of any grant funds to economically disadvantaged areas in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Clair County.
Poor lighting and pedestrian traffic are key contributors to accidents in low-income areas, said Anna Musial, a transportation planner with East-West Gateway.
“When we talk about the disadvantaged neighborhoods, sometimes when other infrastructures such as sideways aren't there,” Musial said. “People who might be using public transit to get to work might be working the late shifts or getting home in the middle of the night. If they don't have those sidewalks or well-lit roadways to walk along, it creates a problem of safety.”
Researchers used accident data to identify dangerous roadways in the St. Louis region. Nine people died and 34 were seriously injured in accidents from 2018 to 2022 on West Florissant Avenue between Acme and Emerson Avenue, making it the most fatal corridor under 3 miles in the region. The area with the most traffic fatalities during that period was the intersection of Lewis and Clark Boulevard and Jennings Station Road.
The report also found that the region has an average of 302 fatal crashes a year and from 2018-22, 19% involved pedestrians and bicyclists. It suggests adding more street lights and bike lanes.
But some St. Louis cyclists say bike lanes are not the safest option.
“I struggle with bike lanes, because it sort of almost creates this assumption that we're not supposed to be on the road,” said Dirk Sprogoe, owner of Billy Goat Bicycle Company. “There's so many distracted drivers, that's where I feel the most unsafe. I don't know if any car coming up from behind me is paying attention.”
Distracted driving is the fifth most common cause of crashes in the region, according to the report. Speeding is the primary cause, followed by failure to yield. Musial said people in the region should drive cautiously.
“It's so easy to wrapped up in the numbers and percentages when you are working with it for months, but in my job I am always trying to remember that each of these numbers represent a person,” she said. “Someone did not go home to their family or someone's life was drastically changed in a second because of a car crash.”
Local government officials can use crash data to help determine where to install traffic calming solutions or restructure roadways, East-West Gateway spokesperson Nancy Cambria said.
“The idea is to help planners and smaller towns … know this is out there and to help them if they do make their applications,” Cambria said. “The grants are for a variety of things. It's not just improving a roadway … it could be anything.”
