Right Now Downtown

I have a pet peeve about the use of statistics, and an article in the Saturday (January 16) Columbus Dispatch made me peevish.  The Dispatch ran an article entitled, “Worst corridors to bike, walk.”  An insert listed the most “dangerous streets” in order of danger, led by North High Street from Dodridge Street near OSU to Goodale Street in the Short North.  MORPC provided the data.

I will not dispute that High Street has the high volume of crashes because it undoubtedly carries the highest volume of bicycle and pedestrian traffic in central Ohio.  But to say that High Street is the most dangerous corridor in Central Ohio is absurd.  Is biking or walking along High Street more dangerous than Polaris Parkway?  According to this article, it is, by virtue of the fact that nobody walks or bicycles on Polaris Parkway.

In my experience, High Street is a relatively safe arterial street because bikers and pedestrians are so prevalent that motorists tend to watch for them.  The MORPC report is a service to the extent that it leads to improving the design of High Street.  But to call High Street the region’s most dangerous corridor makes no sense at all.