Ask a Patch Pro: Pedestrian Safety

Walking is such a basic, everyday activity—putting one foot in front of the other—that news of pedestrians dying or suffering severe injuries while they're simply out and about is particularly harrowing.

What steps can pedestrians, motorists, even bicyclists take to reduce the danger to people who simply want or need to walk to get from one place to another in the community? Is there anything local or state government is or should be doing?

Ask your questions in comments below and look for a reply from an expert.

Our Patch Pros for this topic are James Ingham of Northfield Hospital EMS, Anne Marie Buck, the police services liaison at the Hopkins Police Department, Dale Butler of Fridley, who blogs about pedestrian safety at a blog called, appropriately enough, Pedestrian Safety, and Fay Simer with the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Our panel of experts will check the comments below and try to answer your questions over the course of this Ask a Patch Pro feature on Tuesday, Oct. 23, and Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Thanks to all our Patch pros and questioners for participating!