The Wall Street Journal uses the death of a 16-year-old pedestrian trying to cross a busy road in Memphis as the entry into a deeper look at the rising number of such deaths around the country. Olga Bessan-Gligo was killed at night on Union Avenue, a busy six-lane stretch and a prime example of what's called a "stroad" by urban planners—a combination of street and road. As the story explains, streets are typically the location of homes and businesses, while roads are meant to ferry people at high speeds between their destinations. "A 'stroad' tried to do both tasks at once." The only truly safe place to cross a stroad is at a crosswalk, but they're usually about a half-mile apart, which can take a while to reach by foot. In Bessan-Gligo's case, that would have doubled the length of her journey alone at night, and she opted for the quicker choice.
The story notes that pedestrian deaths in the US increased by 72% between 2009 and 2024, even though most developed nations saw their figures decrease. One big reason the US is an outlier is because urban planners keep building stroads, according to the story. That's particularly true in the Sunbelt, which has become the most dangerous region for American pedestrians. At this point, there's not much officials in Memphis can do to make their stroad safer in terms of design, but they plan to encourage pedestrians to use crosswalks and to improve nearby lighting. Read the full story, which has detailed photos and graphics about how traffic flows on what it calls "one of the most dangerous roads in America."
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