Chicago Named One of Safest Cities for Pedestrians

Here's one of those statements that completely based in facts, but does not sound right at all. A new study claims that Chicago, Illinois is one of the safest cities for pedestrians. Rarely has a statement been true yet felt more untrue.

I want to be clear that I'm not questioning the accuracy of a fun new study by Kuru Footwear. They have ranked metros across America for pedestrian safety which includes the most vital statistic "Number of Pedestrian Deaths per 100,000 People". They also include what they call a "walk score" which includes number of walkable neighborhoods.

Chicago is a top 5 safe city for pedestrians

Overall, Chicago is ranked as the 4th safest pedestrian city in America with a very impressive 1.63 out of 100,000 number for fatalities involving walkers. The walk score of 80 is also near the top of the class which makes sense when you factor in the large number of neighborhoods in the Chicagoland area that have reasonable walking spaces.

I think it's also refreshing to see a national study that gives Chicago something positive to talk about instead of the seemingly constant narrative of negative Illinois topics. Does the state have challenges? Sure, but at least walking in Chicago isn't one of the bad aspects.