Fatal crashes involving pedestrians are rare in Boulder even as they increase statewide. Here鈥檚 why

In The NoCo

Fatal crashes involving pedestrians are rare in Boulder even as they increase statewide. Here鈥檚 why

By In The NoCo,

Published April 28, 2025 at 5:35 AM MDT

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A young family strolls down a pedestrian-only red brick street between trees and rows of buildings — A family strolls down a pedestrian-only red brick street on Boulder's Pearl Street Mall

Fatal traffic accidents involving pedestrians are on the rise in Colorado. In 2023, the most recent year for which data is available,135 pedestrians died in Colorado traffic accidents. That鈥檚 more than twice as many pedestrians as died in traffic crashes a decade earlier, according to a .

But the number of pedestrian deaths has actually decreased in one city. Officials in Boulder reported zero pedestrian deaths in 7 of the past 11 years.

So what to limit and prevent pedestrian fatalities? And what can other Colorado cities learn from Boulder?

Erin O鈥橳oole spoke with , a civil engineering professor with the University of Colorado-Denver and previous In The NoCo guest. Wes wrote a book called , which explores how traffic designs often fail to keep pedestrians safe.

A man in jeans and casual jacket stands next to a bicycle on a sidewalk in Denver, Colorado. — CU Denver professor Wes Marshall

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In The NoCo

皇冠网址's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University鈥檚 NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family鈥檚 financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.

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Brad Turner

Brad Turner is an executive producer in 皇冠网址's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of 皇冠网址鈥檚 new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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