Raquel Nelson and the Fatal Cost of Transportation Inequality

By Suzi Gao, a summer intern

In the stark and unfortunate circumstances of the recent Raquel Nelson case, Americans should pay attention to the need for pedestrian-friendly streets and other needed improvements to our nation’s transit system. At The Leadership Conference, we see transportation equity as a basic civil rights issue that provides essential infrastructure for many that depend on it for life’s most basic needs – education, work, health care, and in Nelson’s case, food.

Last month, Nelson, a part-time student and single mother, was convicted in Georgia of vehicular homicide and jaywalking. After getting off a bus stop across the street from her home, she and her three kids were crossing a dangerous street without any pedestrian safeguards when her 4-year-old son was struck down by an intoxicated driver. After two trials and national outcries against her conviction, Nelson was given the option to accept either 12 months probation or a re-trial. Meanwhile, the driver who killed Nelson’s son got off with six months on a hit-and-run charge.

This unfortunate incident highlights the pertinent need for a reliable and accessible mass transit system. A very small percentage of federal funds are being used for affordable transportation. This means that low-income people, seniors, and people with disabilities are denied equal access to opportunity and safety.

Regrettably in Nelson’s case, the insufficient 1.5 percent of federal funds that were scarcely allocated to revamp dangerous roads or to create better alternatives, ended up personally affecting her life.

According to Transportation for America’s report Dangerous by Design 2011, pedestrians account for nearly 12 percent of total traffic deaths. These deaths are usually considered “accidents,” and often occur along dangerous roads designed for high-speed cars, neglecting provisions for pedestrian friendly infrastructure.

We should keep all of this in mind as Congress considers the surface transportation reauthorization bill that will outline federal spending for the next six years in transportation priorities.

Cutting away necessary investments in walkable communities, bicycle friendly roads, and wheelchair accessibility would be like cutting away their lifelines. And just think, think about some of the benefits our nation would gain, such as less pollution for our air quality, obesity, and the most unfortunate one in this case – pedestrian fatality.

America, it’s a crucial time to rethink a comprehensive, multimodal transit system that calls for more spending – a better encirclement for all walks of life and their individual needs for transit.