Pedestrians are as safe in Iowa City as they are in most cities. Here's what the city is doing to make them safer

The number of pedestrians killed or injured in collisions on Iowa City roads has trended downward over the last 10 years, and is down for this year, but increased in 2022, mirroring a national trend.

While the number of pedestrians struck by motorists has increased the last two years, the number of pedestrian fatalities remains low compared to other Iowa communities.

Iowa City Council members discussed traffic safety and reviewed a 10-year pedestrian collision analysis during a Tuesday work session, in part due to public concerns and perceptions about pedestrian safety in the wake of the death of a jogger in a marked Iowa City crosswalk in May.

In Iowa City, the number of pedestrians struck by motorists fell from 32 in 2013 to 11 in 2020, and increased the next two years.

In 2022, 27 pedestrians were struck by motorists in Iowa City, up from 19 the year prior, according to a city analysis of Iowa Department of Transportation data of traffic collisions reported to law enforcement. The data does not include collisions reported on Interstate 80 or Highway 218, as they are controlled by the Iowa DOT and are not designed for pedestrians.

“In that decade, Iowa City has grown considerably,” said Sarah Walz, associate transportation planner for the city of Iowa City. “We’ve had many large road projects, many changes, many intersection improvements. We’ve also gone through some major, I guess you could say, cultural changes,” including the adoption of smartphones that’s contributed to an increase in distracted motorists and pedestrians, and COVID-19, which accounted for the large drop in pedestrian collisions in 2020, when many stayed home because of the pandemic.

“But, you can see the trend was already dropping in 2019,” Walz said.

Nationally, the number of pedestrian fatalities has been rising, about 13 percent from 2020 to 2022.

“When people hear these startling numbers nationally, they think it’s taking place here, and I don’t think that that’s reflected in the data,” Walz said.

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As of Monday, at least eight pedestrians had been struck by motorists this year. That includes 45-year-old Corey Hite of Cedar Rapids, an Iowa National Guard soldier, who died from his injuries after being hit by a North Liberty teen driving a sport utility vehicle while jogging on May 22.

It’s the first pedestrian fatality reported in Iowa City since 2017.

Iowa City has among the lowest pedestrian fatalities based on its population and miles of roadway.

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From 2017 to 2021, the city had the lowest number of pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 population and vehicle miles traveled than Ames, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque and Waterloo. Cedar Falls reported no pedestrian fatalities, according to the city report.

The number of pedestrians killed in crashes on Iowa roads fell last year, bucking a national trend. And came after two years of increased pedestrian deaths in the state.

Pedestrians and drivers must ‘approach intersections with care’

Unsurprisingly, many of the pedestrians were struck by motorist in high-traffic areas downtown and around the UI campus where many people walk, jog, bike and run to and from work, home, class and areas bars, restaurants, shops and businesses. Some collisions were also clustered around the Hy-Vee store on First Avenue, South East Junior High and the shopping center near Mormon Trek Boulevard.

While 57 percent of pedestrian collisions occurred at street intersections, a majority (54 percent) of pedestrian collisions resulting in death or serious injury occurred at midblock locations, according to the city’s analysis.

More than one-third of Iowa City collisions that resulted in serious injury or death were attributed to improper crossings or darting or dashing into the roadway, Walz said.

“I don’t think our streets are unsafe, but I think there are unsafe situations,” she said. “And you do have to be alert. It’s incumbent on everyone to do their part. As a pedestrian, as a bicyclist, as a motorist, we all have to approach intersections with care, even when we have the green light.”

Two of the four pedestrian fatalities Iowa City has seen since 2013 took place along the Iowa Highway 1 and U.S. Highway 6 commercial corridor, portions of which lack sidewalks, curb cuts and pedestrian signals and crosswalks.

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Nationwide, nearly two-thirds of fatal pedestrian collisions occur on non-freeway arterials, like the Highway 1 and 6 corridor, with three lanes of traffic or more, speed limits over 30 mph, and with stretches of the road flanked by retail, groceries or other essential services.

Kent Ralston, transportation planner for the city of Iowa City, said the city has set aside money for a design study to look at improvements to the Iowa Highway 1 and U.S. Highway 6 and Riverside Drive intersection.

Sidewalks are required with all new development as part of the city’s development and subdivision standards. Areas lacking sidewalks are addressed during other, complementary infrastructure projects as well through the city’s sidewalk infill program, Ralston said.

City working on designs that increase pedestrian safety

Ralston said the city has made a concerted effort to design streets that increase pedestrian safety, from making sure there are well-lighted crosswalks in places where people regularly walk, to adding road elements that make drivers slow down — like roundabouts and speed bumps.

Walz adding the “vast majority of our street miles are 25 miles per hour.”

Ralston said the city has been working in recent years to add road features in busy pedestrian areas that draw attention to pedestrians. Those include crossing signs with flashing lights that turn on when a button is pushed, as well as signs to alert drivers to school walking routes and often-used pedestrian crossings.

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The Johnson County Metropolitan Planning Organization performed an analysis at the intersection of Melrose Avenue and Kennedy Parkway in Iowa City, where Hite was hit and killed in May. No major changes are being made as a result, but the city has ordered new crosswalk signage.

At high-volume roadways, the city has installed a median with safety islands, or refuge area, where pedestrians can stop before finishing crossing a multilane road. They are typically used at loca­tions where speeds and volumes make crossings prohibitive, or where three or more lanes of traffic make pedestrians feel exposed or unsafe.

Along high-traffic corridors, the city uses landscaping, planters and other barriers and physical cues to separate vehicular traffic from pedestrian areas, discourage jaywalking and direct pedestrians to safe crossings.

In recent years, the city has also worked to convert roadways from four lanes to three, including on First Avenue and Mormon Trek Boulevard, with a center left-turn lane and bike lanes.

Walz said city officials plan to use the information gathered to evaluate top pedestrian collision locations and corridors for potential countermeasures. That includes reviewing all trail and midblock crossings for uniform signage, lighting, crossing locations and other measures, gathering pedestrian traffic counts at crossings to provide more accurate crash rates, and evaluating recent 4-lane to 3-lane conversions.

Council member Megan Alter asked city staff to also consider increasing outreach and education, including on the UI campus, to raise public awareness of the need to be careful and mindful of one’s surroundings and eliminate distractions to improve safety, both for pedestrians as well as motorists.

“I’m looking at the statistics … and there could be more vigilance,” Alter said.

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com