When a Street Kills a Child, We Put the Parents on Trial
3 days ago
- #pedestrian safety
- #urban planning
- #social justice
- A 7-year-old boy, Legend Jenkins, was killed by an SUV in Gastonia, NC, while walking home from the grocery store with his brother.
- The driver faced no charges, but Legend’s parents were charged with involuntary manslaughter and given $1.5 million bail each.
- Gastonia’s streets are designed for cars, not people, making them dangerous for pedestrians, especially children and lower-income communities.
- The U.S. pedestrian death rate is three times higher than other developed countries, with a 58% increase in the decade leading to 2022.
- The prosecution of the Jenkinses highlights a system that criminalizes parents for normal behavior in a car-centric environment.
- West Hudson Boulevard exemplifies dangerous design: high speeds, no safe crossings, and poor visibility, making it a 'stroad' (street-road hybrid).
- Solutions include redesigning streets for people, lowering speed limits, adding crosswalks, and rebuilding fine-grained street networks.
- The case reflects a broader issue in American towns, where dangerous streets are normalized, and pedestrians are blamed instead of infrastructure.
- Strong Towns advocates for rethinking urban design to prioritize safety and accessibility over car throughput.
- The article calls for systemic change to prevent tragedies like Legend’s death and unjust prosecutions like the Jenkinses’.