Louisville Police Officer Strikes Pedestrian During City’s Big Safety Push

Louisville is trying to get a handle on pedestrian safety. An average of 16 pedestrians are killed on the city's streets annually, and the last few years have been getting worse. The city has received funding from the federal government for a three-year safety campaign dubbed "Look Alive Louisville."

Branden Klayko at Network blog Broken Sidewalk has been running a series about the initiative. While the objective is admirable, so far the city's tactics are a mixed bag at best. Law enforcement has been ticketing pedestrians for "jaywalking" and warning them about the dangers of dark clothing. On a more positive note, some of the messaging is aimed at drivers, and Dixie Highway, where 20 percent of collisions involving pedestrians occur, is due for a design "do-over."

In the midst of the campaign, Klayko reports, an off-duty police office struck a pedestrian -- an incident the encapsulates, in some ways, how "Look Alive Louisville" comes up short:

Elsewhere on the Network today: Better Cities & Towns explains how the streets of Hartford's commercial districts were laid low. And Bike Portland reports that the city's well-known neighborhood greenways program is on its way to being improved and expanded.