The Miami metropolitan area is one of the nation's most dangerous for pedestrians because the roads here generally have been designed to speed up -- not slow down -- traffic, according to a report released Monday.

Dangerous by Design, a report produced jointly by the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership and Transportation for America, ranks the Miami region as the third most dangerous for people walking -- after Orlando and Tampa. Jacksonville ranked No. 4.

Though similar reports have been issued in the past, the survey released Monday is perhaps the most comprehensive -- based on statistics that link design of highways, streets and avenues to pedestrian fatality rates.

One of its most striking conclusions is that the most dangerous urban areas for pedestrians are not those with the highest number of pedestrian deaths but those where people walking along any given road are most at risk of getting hit by a vehicle.

New York, for example, has the highest absolute number of pedestrian deaths of any American metropolitan area -- with 317 pedestrian deaths in 2008, the study said.

But for study authors what matters is whether the road layout of an urban area makes walking more dangerous even if the number of pedestrian fatalities is lower.

The reason is that even if fewer people are walking in urban areas like Orlando, Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville, those who venture out onto the streets are more likely to be struck down by a speeding vehicle than those walking in more compact urban centers like Manhattan. Orlando was designated in the report as the most dangerous urban area for pedestrians.

``Orlando tops the list because of its high pedestrian fatality rate of 2.9 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 residents, despite a very low proportion of residents walking to work, only 1.3 percent,'' the report says. ``In other words, the few people who do walk in Orlando face a relatively high risk of being killed by traffic.''

As a result, study authors assigned Orlando a pedestrian danger index of 221.5 -- the nation's highest.

Tampa followed in second place with an average pedestrian fatality rate of 3.52 per 100,000 residents and a danger index of 205.5.

The Miami metropolitan area ranked third with an average pedestrian fatality rate of 3.04 and a danger index level at 181.2.

The report's pedestrian danger index consists of the average pedestrian fatality rate per 100,000 residents over a two-year period and the percentage of residents who commute to work by foot.

In the report, incidentally, the Miami metropolitan area includes Fort Lauderdale and all surrounding communities north to Pompano Beach -- a distance of about 50 miles from downtown Miami.

New York, with an average pedestrian fatality rate of 1.67, was ranked 50th and assigned a danger index level of 28.1 -- even if in absolute numbers the area had the nation's highest number of pedestrian deaths in major urban areas both in 2007 and 2008: 316 and 317, respectively.

In the study, New York also includes Long Island and northern New Jersey.

The report blames sprawling suburban-style growth for the danger to pedestrians, with roads designed to assist vehicular traffic, often without sidewalks or proper crosswalks.

``Over the past several decades, most of the business of daily life has shifted from Main Streets to state highways that have grown wider and wider over time,'' the report states. ``These arterial roads, as they are called, have drawn shopping centers, drive-thrus, apartment complexes and office parks.

``However, the pressure to move as many cars through these areas as quickly as possible has led transportation departments to squeeze in as many lanes as they can, while designing out sidewalks, crosswalks and crossing signals, on-street parking, and even street trees in order to remove impediments to speeding traffic.''

It's no surprise then, the report says, that more than half of fatal vehicle crashes occurred on wide, high-speed roads.

``The list of the most dangerous metro areas for walking is striking in its uniformity,'' the report says. ``Nine of the 10 metro areas are in the South, and the top four are in Florida.

``These areas are dominated by lower density and automobile-oriented development patterns, which include high-speed urban arterials that are particularly hazardous for walking.''

According to the study, Hispanics and African Americans, on average, are particularly vulnerable because they ``drive less and walk more than other groups.''

According to the report, African Americans ``walk for 50 percent more trips than whites, and the Hispanic walking rate is close to 40 percent higher.''

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