From 2012 through last month, more than 3,000 pedestrians were hit by cars in Denver, and several neighborhoods in the city have suffered accidents of this type numbering in the hundreds over that span. In contrast, the ten parts of the Mile High spotlighted below experienced the fewest pedestrian-car crashes. But that hardly means they got off scot-free.
A case in point: The safest Denver neighborhood by this measure has been the setting for just two of these incidents during the past six years-plus, but both of them were fatal, including the July 2014 crash whose aftermath was captured in the photo at the top of this post. In that incident, four pedestrians were involved and one died.
The pedestrian-car crash facts and figures analyzed by Westword can be found in the Denver open data catalog, a free online resource that we also utilized in our recent posts about the neighborhoods with the most and fewest accidents involving cyclists struck by cars. Visitors to the website will find traffic information dating back to 2012 — and stats for more recent incidents are accessible within a week or two of their occurrence.
We discovered that there were 3,332 reports of accidents involving cars striking pedestrians from the start of the database to April 19 of this year. Around a third of that total took place in just ten neighborhoods, the lion's share of which are located in the busiest sections of central Denver.
As for the neighborhoods in which the fewest pedestrians were struck by cars, they're scattered across the metro area. They tend to be relatively small, but some are surprising — among them Cole, which is booming thanks to the rise of RiNo.
Continue to count down the ten Denver neighborhoods with the fewest crashes involving pedestrians. The roster is supplemented by details about the first listed crash in each area and the most recent one. We've also added notes about incidents that involved special circumstances, such as serious bodily injuries or hit-and-runs.
Number 10: Chaffee Park
Number of accidents involving pedestrians hit by cars from 2012 to April 19, 2018: 12
First listed incident:
08/17/12
W 49TH AVE/N FEDERAL BLVD
Note: Hit-and-run
Most recent incident:
12/05/17
W 52ND AVE/N PECOS ST
Number 9 (tie): Rosedale
Number of accidents involving pedestrians hit by cars from 2012 to April 19, 2018: 11
First listed incident:
05/09/12
E HARVARD AVE / S DOWNING ST
Most recent incident:
03/01/18
2525 S DOWNING ST
Number 9 (tie): South Park Hill
Number of accidents involving pedestrians hit by cars from 2012 to April 19, 2018: 11
First listed incident:
03/13/12
1500 BLOCK N COLORADO BLVD
Most recent incident:
02/05/18
1600 BLOCK N COLORADO BLVD
Number 7 (tie): Kennedy
Number of accidents involving pedestrians hit by cars from 2012 to April 19, 2018: 10
First listed incident:
04/11/12
S KENTON ST/E DARTMOUTH AVE
Most recent incident:
10/02/17
10700 E DARTMOUTH AVE
Note: Hit-and-run
Number 7 (tie): Cole
Number of accidents involving pedestrians hit by cars from 2012 to April 19, 2018: 10
First listed incident:
02/27/12
E BRUCE RANDOLPH AVE/N GILPIN ST
Most recent incident:
04/11/16
E 33RD AVE/N MARION ST
Note: Serious bodily injury
Number 5 (tie): Country Club
Number of accidents involving pedestrians hit by cars from 2012 to April 19, 2018: 5
First listed incident:
05/28/12
E 6TH AVE/N YORK ST
Most recent incident:
07/18/17
E 2ND AVE/N UNIVERSITY BLVD
Note: Hit-and-run
Number 5 (tie): Fort Logan
Number of accidents involving pedestrians hit by cars from 2012 to April 19, 2018: 5
First listed incident:
02/19/13
W QUINCY AVE/S ZENOBIA ST
Most recent incident:
01/02/18
W QUINCY AVE/S LOWELL BLVD
Note: Serious bodily injury
Number 3: Southmoor Park
Number of accidents involving pedestrians hit by cars from 2012 to April 19, 2018: 6
First listed incident:
02/21/12
E HAMPDEN AVE/E HAPPY CANYON RD
Note: Serious bodily injury
Most recent incident:
09/15/16
4545 S MONACO ST
Number 2: Indian Creek
Number of accidents involving pedestrians hit by cars from 2012 to April 19, 2018: 3
First listed incident:
03/08/14
1470 S QUEBEC WAY
Note: Hit-and-run
Most recent incident:
12/24/17
1800 BLOCK S QUEBEC WAY
Number 1: Wellshire
Number of accidents involving pedestrians hit by cars from 2012 to April 19, 2018: 2
First listed incident:
07/12/14
2795 S COLORADO BLVD
Note: Four pedestrians involved, one fatality. Also listed under serious bodily injury and DUI/DUID.
Most recent incident:
07/13/16
3400 BLOCK E YALE WAY
Note: Fatal accident