Where do you encounter roads that lack sidewalks and are also unsafe to walk on? I've frequently experienced the former in Seattle, but usually they're very low speed residential streets that are safe to just walk on. The only real counterexample I can think of is 5th Ave NE by the golf course.
"And are also unsafe to walk on," though? Most of those are residential streets with low traffic. I lived in that area and ran around somewhat regularly for several years. The street I mentioned as the worst one is in that district. :-)
Unfortunately so. There are some egregious ones up there like that, but also if you step one block off of any major thoroughfare the sidewalk ends, yet there is still consistent traffic. This includes streets that connect schools, libraries, parks, etc. There were 271 pedestrian injuries in Seattle last year, 17 were fatal. Source: https://remoteapps.wsdot.wa.gov/highwaysafety/collision/data...
> There are some egregious ones up there like that, but also if you step one block off of any major thoroughfare the sidewalk ends, yet there is still consistent traffic.
Sure, but again, those streets by and large did not feel unsafe to me (on foot).
> There were 271 pedestrian injuries in Seattle last year, 17 were fatal.
This datapoint is just not responsive to the discussion, unless you're saying those injuries happened specifically on non-sidewalked streets in north Seattle? I suspect most were in the street or crosswalks in busier parts of town.
> Sure, but again, those streets by and large did not feel unsafe to me (on foot).
I’m not sure about you or your situation but feelings of safety vary wildly among people. As a parent of young children, sharing a street with cars does not instill a feeling of safety unless visibility is astoundingly good.
There are dozens of pockets of streets with no sidewalks that seem safe until you find that they are significant overflow routes (of which there are many given Seattle’s various traffic struggles)
