The following report is by Smart Cities World:
Walking in America: Metro & Statewide Pedestrian & Mode Share Trends explores recent data-driven trends in walking and active mode share across all the top 100 largest US metros.
Transportation Data
StreetLight, a subsidiary of Jacobs, uses its InSight platform to transform data into contextualised, normalised, and aggregated travel patterns that aims to help planners and other transportation professionals with data-driven insights to inform transportation and infrastructure projects of any size and scope.
Active transportation mode data, specifically cycling and walking activity, have historically been hard to come by, which is why we are excited to be releasing this report.
We hope that localities can use trends to help re-focus their resources. In most places, the changes are significant and vary between urban and suburban areas. This indicates that localities might get bigger impact expending pedestrian investments beyond the normal boundaries, and updating assumptions about how to increase walking.
Laura Schewel, StreetLight CEO and vice president of transportation software at Jacobs, said
Key findings from the e-book:
Major metro (city) trends
- Every major metro lost walking activity between 2019-2022, with declines ranging from 23 percent to 49 percent. The smallest declines were concentrated in warm weather metros
- However, compared to 2021, 18 metros saw walking activity rise in 2022. California metros took 9 out of the top 10 spots for 2022 year-on-year walking trip growth. New York City ranked 10th
- Per capita, New York City ranked first for walking activity in 2022 followed by Orlando, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Boston. Los Angeles ranked sixth
- Among the 25 biggest metros, San Francisco and Boston follow NYC for highest share of trips taken via an active transportation mode, while Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta saw the smallest share of trips taken via an active transportation mode.
National trends
- Active transportation (walking plus biking trips) accounted for 10 percent of trips in 2022, down from 14 percent in 2019. However, bicycle activity is increasing as a share of all trips, while pedestrian is decreasing as a share of all trips
- Annual average daily walking trips in the US declined by 36 percent nationally between 2019-2022, even as pedestrian fatalities trended up over the same period, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association’s Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State report
- Walking is starting to stabilise nationally since 2021, with several metro areas seeing an increase in 2022. The increase is driven by the most dense, downtown areas of the country
- The decline is sharper in places with more inclement weather. This may indicate that the reduction in overall pedestrian activity is largely a reduction in “utility trips” (for example, walking to get lunch downtown during a workday), and less due to reduction in “recreational” trips such as going for a walk with friends.
State trends
- Every state saw walking activity decline between 2019-2022. New Jersey saw the smallest decline, with a 29 percent decrease in walking trips
- The states that rank highest for per capita walking activity are Washington, DC, New York, New Jersey, and Nevada. Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee rank last
- Among the largest 25 states by population, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts see the highest share of trips taken via active transportation while Louisiana, Tennessee, and Alabama see the smallest share of trips taken via active transportation.
To get a copy of Walking in America: Metro & Statewide Pedestrian & Mode Share Trends eBook, go to Walking in America.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
I mention this article because it gives us an indirect window to what’s happening in the economy and society as a whole.
The Covid lockdowns and hysteria – a main of component of them – was to stop the broader movement of people and travel, to keep people more isolated and sedentary, for which this data has more than proven. Now more people are embracing virtual work or not even going back to work; whereas others have been programmed to become loners and never leave the home, content with the entertainment they have there, living off of deliveries and drop-offs, and even others who are now actually scared of the outside world. Moreover, with the price of everything increasing, inflation rocketing and purchasing power dying, real wages not keeping up, and energy costs elevated – the desire to go out and have a stroll around town, to shop around and eat out has declined.
This of course ties in directly with the economy and the commercial real estate bust that I have been warning about.
Kastle Systems has been documenting that office and workplace occupancy has been at, give or take, 50% on the year, only trending down to roughly 40% this past week for Black Friday and Christmas sales.
This directly affects foot traffic and businesses in these cities, as morning, lunch, and evening commutes to and fro the workplace have a symbiotic relationship. With less people returning to the offices and jobsites, other businesses in these cities also feel the pinch.
Ultimately, as I have been warning about, the West is headed for a massive commercial real estate collapse that will tear down the banks, that are already insolvent and holding onto toxic loans and debt, as landlords will not renew their leases and mortgages, leaving the banks left holding the bag. It will be a disaster and make ’08 look like a cake walk…
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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the grocery stores are the only busy place I see nowadays.
Same. The nightlife is dead on a Friday night here in Northern Indiana. Walmart and Costco run out of spaces daily.
Their study forgot 1 little item; a lot of people have left these hellholes and went to other states or out to the country
That is correct, David.
That’s good! Hopefully they move to smaller towns and they get away from the city life, and live a simpler more relaxed life and a better opportunity at righteous standards.
People are fleeing California and New York which is great they should, but flee the conservative states as well like Florida and Texas as well. Texas is a wicked and prideful state, they think they’re so big and so great and they’re fixated on greed-fueled capitalism. God is going to smash the state of Texas like a mosquito!
It’s not safe to walk the streets as criminals are favored & purposely released to add pressure & build hatred & fear. Where people are doing more walking is where they have no choice.
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In our nearby communities there is a great increase in bicycle traffic as the Amish and Mennonite are herded into the one world and Jesuit reduccione styled economy that will provide for the elite & managing classes better diet.
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The battery bikes clip along at 30 to 40 mph, & solar is much used as the Amish/Mennonite businesses use it & believe it keeps them still separate from being hooked in to the visible & physical electrical grid, connected to expanding markets.
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More and more women in the workforce & using those things, & there is much self-righteousness about ‘fitness’ & such that is reminiscent of the Marvel comic hero gym rats, only not tatooed and conservatively clothed. It’s easy to massage & manage self-righteousness with those of Augustinian kingdom building belief and organization with government monies & grants, perks etc….a bit of biblical sounding propaganda mixed with their works religious philosophy magically works wonders. Romish social justice arm right.
Soon people will be crawling back to the cities i.e smart cities. This will accelerate the process of own nothing and be happy. Soon electric vehicles will be illegal due to 15 minute cities. The ev car chargers are experiencing problems in cold temperatures.