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Registry Hopes To Reduce Pedestrian Deaths

Posted at 4:20 PM, Feb 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-04 10:58:20-05

Pedestrian safety has been a topic of discussion in Nashville for years, as the city has grown from a small town into a booming metropolitan area. Following multiple deaths and a new report shining a spotlight on the issue, one local woman is working on a website to help remedy the issue. 

"I love the serendipity of walking. It's a great pleasure, but here in Nashville it's not a comfortable event. It's a very stressful event to be out there on foot," said Stacy Dorris, founder of The Sidewalk Foundation.  

Multiple pedestrians were hit and killed by cars in January in Nashville. The same month, a new study came out ranking Nashville as the 37th most dangerous city in the United States for pedestrians. 

After seeing the report and numerous news reports, Dorris came up with the idea to create a website to help educate people about the problem.

"We live in a city and we need to be able to provide for people to walk in a safe fashion," Dorris explained. 

Dorris decided to launch a website that will keep a registry of pedestrian deaths in Davidson County. , similar to how the LA Times' Homicide Report, where they go deep into the stories of people who have lost their lives, rather than just reporting what happened at the scene.

"This is really to highlight that personal story, to get more information, and to highlight these situations so that we all can understand more," Dorris said.

She said she hoped that by understanding why a pedestrian fatality happened, it can help prevent further deaths in the future. 

To create a website similar to The Homicide Report, Dorris estimated that she'd need to raise around $10,000. 

Dorris has been accepting donations from those who would like to help through The Sidewalk Foundation.