Last year, 646 were injured or killed while walking or biking in 533 reported crashes in St. Louis City and County. One hundred forty-nine people lost their lives due to traffic violence in St. Louis City and County in 2023.

2023 was the deadliest year on record for people walking in St. Louis County.

In the City of St. Louis, we saw the lowest number of total traffic fatalities since 2018. For the first time since 2014, there were fewer than 10 pedestrian fatalities in the City. And still, the total number of crashes on City streets went up from 2022 to 2023.

These and other key findings are part of Trailnet’s “2023 St. Louis City and County Crash Report.” This report is a snapshot and analysis of traffic violence in the region, the progress on the road to safer streets and St. Louisans’ experiences of the infrastructure they use daily.

“Year-after-year we are seeing the same trends — People walking and biking continue to die and be seriously injured on wide, high-speed arterial roads like Grand, Gravois, St. Charles Rock Rd, Halls Ferry, and W. Florissant,” said Sam McCrory, Trailnet’s Community Planner and the primary author of the report. “At Trailnet, we want to see bold infrastructure improvements to drastically increase safety for people walking and biking in our region. We need to start actively planning the streets for people, not for the movement and convenience of vehicles.”

In addition to reporting crash data, this year’s report features a new section of “St. Louis Street Stories.” From November 2023 to January 2024, hundreds of residents filled out Trailnet’s public “St. Louis Street Stories” survey. The resultant section of this report represents only a selection of our neighbors’ many passionate responses. We hope these stories effectively supplement our crash data with personal accounts from the people who walk, bike, drive, and take public transit in St. Louis every day.

“Trailnet wants to equip community members, the media, and decision-makers with the information they need to track the impact of traffic violence and demand safer streets,” said Cindy Mense, Trailnet’s CEO. “This year, we share the stories of people impacted and the ripple effect of this disturbing trend in driving behavior. The human toll is immeasurable.”

The report is based on data from the Missouri Statewide Traffic Accident Records System, which catalogs crash information from law enforcement agencies across the state.

Other key takeaways include:

Grand Boulevard has been the most dangerous corridor for people walking in the City of St. Louis every year since 2020. Total crashes involving a person walking on Grand increased from 21 in 2022 to 28 in 2023.

In the City of St. Louis, 86 percent of pedestrian fatalities (seven out of eight) occurred in predominantly black and minority areas. In St. Louis County, 54 percent of pedestrian fatalities occurred in predominantly black and minority areas.

In 2023, the vast majority of fatal pedestrian crashes in St. Louis City (100 percent) and County (86 percent) took place on roads with speed limits marked 30 MPH or higher.

Thirty-three percent of pedestrian crashes and 50 percent of pedestrian fatalities occurred on the same three City roads — Kingshighway, Gravois, and Natural Bridge.

Five pedestrian crashes (including one fatality) occurred within 500 feet of each other on New Halls Ferry Road in St. Louis County, between Dunn Road and Target Drive.

Visit trailnet.org/2023-crash-report to read the full report.