Colorado is on track to see fewer pedestrians killed in crashes this year after setting a record high in 2023, a change state and local officials say is an encouraging start — but just a start.

There was a 9% drop in traffic fatalities in the first half of 2024 compared to the same time last year, the Colorado Department of Transportation announced Thursday.

State transportation officials recorded 294 traffic fatalities between Jan. 1 and June 30 and saw the biggest decrease in pedestrian deaths, with 47 pedestrians killed in crashes so far this year. That marks a 24% decrease from the first half of 2023.

Colorado saw a record high of 131 pedestrians killed in crashes in 2022, 62 of whom died in the first half of the year.

“We’re seeing less risky behavior on our roadways leading to fewer fatalities,” CDOT spokesperson Sam Cole said Thursday. “Enforcement, engineering improvements and traffic safety awareness are driving down traffic deaths, but we still have a long way to go.”

State data shows a drop in traffic deaths across the board, including 23% fewer child and teen crash deaths, 16% fewer impaired driving deaths and 6% fewer unbuckled crash deaths. There have been three bicyclists killed in crashes compared to eight at this time in 2023.

Denver Streets Partnership Executive Director Jill Locantore said while she wasn’t ready to get out the pom-poms, the state data is a good sign.

“We’re always cautious with just one year’s or a partial year’s worth of data, whether that truly is a trend or if it was a minor variation or will go back up again,” Locantore said.

Denver city officials tracked 30 traffic deaths in the first half of the year compared to 41 deaths in the first half of 2023, according to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.

City officials have been working to eliminate traffic-related deaths and serious injuries through the Vision Zero initiative since 2016, including recent projects on North Federal Boulevard, West Colfax Avenue and Green Valley Ranch Boulevard.

“Eight years after the city first committed to Vision Zero, we’re going to start seeing enough of an aggregate change in street design that it’s possible we’re starting to see a bend in the curve,” Locantore said.

One example is a new bikeway and “traffic calming” infrastructure on streets like Broadway, Locantore said.

“Those are the kinds of changes that make the streets safer for everyone, not just people on bikes, and what we want to see on more big arterial streets like Broadway,” she said.

Another factor in reducing traffic deaths is increasing police enforcement, Cole said.

Colorado State Patrol troopers have used regular patrols as well as surge operations in high-crash areas like Interstate 25, U.S. 36 and Federal Boulevard to try to prevent crashes, said Trooper Sherri Mendez.

“We want to make it to where there’s zero traffic fatalities, and we’re going to keep proceeding like this until it gets to zero,” Mendez said.

State officials will continue leaning on evidence-based approaches to reduce the number of people who die in crashes every year, from getting people to the hospital faster after a crash to putting in more rumble strips, Cole said.

“This is really encouraging and an indication that some of those risky driving behaviors people adopted during the pandemic are finally starting to wane,” he said.

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Originally Published: July 26, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.