Forbes study ranks Bakersfield 2nd safest city for pedestrians, but is it?

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A controversial study ranks Bakersfield the second safest in the nation for pedestrians after studying two years of fatality data. While a different study back in May by Smart Growth America ranked Bakersfield the fourth most dangerous in the country after comparing 5 year spans.

The Forbes study compared numbers from 2022 and 2023 calculating Bakersfield had 1.24 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people.

The Smart Growth America Study compared 2018 to 2022 to the five previous years and found 3.99 per 100,000 people.

"Forbes was looking at a very limited amount of data, they were looking at what essentially amounts to a year of data," said Matt Clark, attorney at Chain Cohn Clark.

While the city has taken this issue seriously, with a neighborhood traffic calming program and developing Safe routes to schools, Matt Clark, attorney at Chain Cohn and Clark says this Forbes report, is out of touch.

"If we look at the overall numbers, if we look at many years of data, which the Smart Growth America study did, we don't have a pretty picture in our community as far as the safety of pedestrians on our roadways," said Clark.

A pedestrian died after he was hit by a pickup truck next to Union Cemetery in east Bakersfield Wednesday night about 7:30.

The investigators say he was in the roadway, outside of a crosswalk, when he was struck by a pickup.

By KGET'S count, it was Kern's 43rd pedestrian fatality of 2024, that's about 4.6 fatalities per 100,000 population. That figure includes the entire county, not just Bakersfield.

An 8-year-old boy hit by a car outside Roosevelt Elementary yesterday afternoon is in critical but stable condition at Madera Children's Hospital.

These stories are one of many, 57-year-old Faustino Sierra Vega, was hit and killed on 4th and V street, and his daughter Alejandra Sierra spoke out about pedestrian safety in Bakersfield,

"My dad was in a wheelchair.... sometimes he would use it for support," said Sierra. "He knew it was dangerous... He had his wheelchair, he wore a reflective vest to be seen ..... he was in a crosswalk. It wasn't enough to stop the accident. What more could he have done? "

Both of these studies highlight an important issue here in Bakersfield, and the city has taken measures to prevent these accidents.

The question: is it enough? That remains to be seen.