Lexington pedestrian deaths from car crashes are 5x higher this year. City looks at fixes
This year has been one of the deadliest years on record for fatal collisions in Lexington, especially incidents which leave pedestrians dead.
As of Dec. 28, there have been 51 fatal crashes resulting in 51 deaths, according to data from Kentucky State Police. That is the highest number of deaths from crashes recorded in a single year in Fayette County since KSP began tracking deadly crashes in 2010.
The only other time Fayette County recorded 50 deaths from wrecks in a single year since 2010 was in 2016, when 50 people were killed in 48 collisions, according to KSP data. There were 35 deadly crashes in Lexington last year, which caused a total of 38 deaths.
Lexington has averaged 32 traffic deaths per year since 2010, according to KSP data.
Twenty of this year’s fatal collisions involved a pedestrian killed after being hit by a vehicle, according to KSP data. That’s a 566% increase from the same time last year, when three pedestrians were killed in crashes. A total of 18 pedestrians were killed between the beginning of 2019 and the end of 2022, according to KSP data.
Traffic safety advocates say there are ways to reverse the trend of rising traffic deaths. Jennifer Kirchner, the executive director for Kentuckians for Better Transportation, said the high number of deadly crashes is a concern for the organization she runs, which is a multi-modal association that advocates for a safe and sustainable transportation network.
She said the quickest way to explain the increase in deadly collisions is human behavior, such as distracted drivers and increased speeding.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has taken steps to enhance road safety. Kirchner said the cabinet has adopted a Safe Systems Approach, a national model that prioritizes the elimination of fatal crashes or wrecks with serious injuries. This approach prioritizes safer vehicles, safer speeds, safer roads, and adequate care if a crash occurs. It also focuses on ensuring drivers and other travelers are attentive and responsible.
Kirchner also said the cabinet has adopted the Complete Streets Model, a design for roads which increases safety for all transportation methods — pedestrians, cars, bicyclists, buses and more.
“It is a departure from how we used to approach road safety and the built environment, and a much more realistic one,” Kirchner said.
It’s an approach Lexington may see more of soon.
Local traffic engineers and planners are working to establish complete streets all over town in Lexington, according to Mayor Linda Gorton. Susan Straub, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said there will be a presentation of the complete streets plan to the city council in early 2024. Implementation of the plan is expected to begin after that.
The city was also recently awarded a nearly $22 million grant to overhaul the infrastructure of one of Lexington’s busiest roadways – a stretch of New Circle Road from Boardwalk to Bryan Station Road. The grant was one of the largest one-time federal transportation grants the city has received, according to Chris Evilia, director of the Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
“As we begin the process of putting together a budget for next year, pedestrian safety will continue to be a priority,” Gorton said in a statement.
Included in the grant is money for a new “Vision Zero coordinator,” who will help the city implement other safety initiatives to address fatal crashes and crashes with serious injuries. Vision Zero is a strategy designed to prevent collisions with deaths or serious injuries. The Vision Zero Network is a campaign striving to help cities reduce their traffic deaths to zero.
Kirchner said communities across the state have considered adopting Vision Zero, which began in the 1990s in Sweden and has proven to be successful in Europe.
“There is focus and concern at the federal, state and local level with many innovative engineering and design approaches but change is slow,” Kirchner said. “The best we all can do to prevent fatalities is to pay attention.”
Kentuckians for Better Transportation are also pushing to introduce a bill designed to protect people in roadside work zones in this year’s legislative session, Kirchner said. A man was killed in Lexington this year in one such incident — in August an 18-year-old construction worker and recent high school graduate was killed after being struck by a tire that came off a passing vehicle in a construction zone on I-75 near the Clays Ferry Bridge, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office.
“Sadly, we are seeing increased fatalities here as well,” Kirchner said. ‘We are also looking for ways to fund public transit as this too is a part of the solution to provide access safety and mobility.”
