Newly-released data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that pedestrian fatalities are on the rise nationwide. According to NHTSA’s 2011 Traffic Safety Facts, released this week, 4,432 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in 2011 in the United States, a three-percent increase over the number killed in 2010.

In order to address pedestrian fatalities in cities (73 percent of fatalities were in urban areas in 2011), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) devised a list of 22 “Focus Cities” with high pedestrian fatality rates that will be eligible to apply for a portion of $2 million in pedestrian safety grants.

A high rate of pedestrian deaths, however, isn’t the only thing these cities have in common: most of them also happen to be in some of the nation’s least healthy metro areas, according to the American College of Sports Medicine’s 2013 American Fitness Index. The AFI ranks the nation’s 50 largest metro areas using personal and community/environmental health indicators. Fifteen of the 22 “Focus Cities” landed in the bottom half of the AFI’s rankings for community/environmental health indicators (rankings are in parentheses):

• New York City/Newark (26)
• St. Louis (29)
• Jacksonville (30)
• Atlanta (33)
• Los Angeles (38)
• Dallas/Fort Worth (43)
• Louisville (44)
• San Antonio (45)
• Houston (47)
• Phoenix (48)
• Detroit (49)
• Miami/Fort Lauderdale (50)

While many factors contribute to the collective health of a metro area , it’s hard to overlook the role of transportation options. It’s no coincidence that Portland, Minneapolis and Boston, cities that have made major investments in biking and walking safety and infrastructure, all rank near the top of the American Fitness Index. In other words, it’s easier to get physical activity where streets safely accommodate not only motorists, but pedestrians, cyclists and transit users too. Wide, high-speed suburban arterials that are difficult to cross because people drive too fast are a barrier to active transportation, but so are urban streets where speed enforcement is lax and a car-centric mentality prevents traffic calming measures from being implemented.

The $2 million in grant funds will be divided among six cities, so it won’t be a game-changer throughout the United States, let alone in the tri-state area. And since bicycle and pedestrian funding was cut by one-third in the federal transportation bill, leaders in the region will need to do even more to fund this critical safety infrastructure. In New York, NYSDOT c0uld start by training engineers and public works employees to better understand the needs of all road users, and the State Legislature should create a state fund dedicated to pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure. New Jersey leaders should pass a Vulnerable Users bill that would stiffen penalties for drivers who kill or injure pedestrians, bicyclists, highway workers, or other non-motorists, while continuing their push to incentivize municipal and county-level adoption of Complete Streets policies. And in Connecticut, ConnDOT should create and fund Safe Routes for Seniors and Safe Routes to Transit programs, and also redesign Connecticut’s Highway Design Manual to address the goals and policies set forth in the State’s Complete Streets law.