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

Dangerous by Design, a study produced by the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership and Transportation for America, ranks the Miami-Dade/Broward region as the third most dangerous for people walking -- after Orlando and Tampa.

Though similar reports have been issued in the past, Monday's survey 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: 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 major 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 in 2008. But the region, including Long Island and northern New Jersey, ranked 50th of 52 areas and had a pedestrian fatality rate of 1.67 per 100,000 residents.

For study authors, a key issue was whether the road layout of an urban area makes walking more dangerous even if the number of pedestrians fatalities is lower.

Even if fewer people are walking in sprawling areas like Orlando, Tampa and South Florida, those who venture onto the streets are more likely to be struck down by a speeding vehicle than those walking in more compact and older urban centers like Manhattan.

Orlando was singled out as the most dangerous urban area for pedestrians, with a pedestrian fatality rate of 2.9 deaths per 100,000 residents -- though just 1.3 percent of residents walk to work.

``In other words, the few people who do walk in Orlando face a relatively high risk of being killed by traffic,'' the study said.

Orlando had a ``pedestrian danger index'' of 221.5, the nation's highest. That index consists of the average pedestrian fatality rate per 100,000 residents over a two-year period, and the percentage of residents who walk to work.

Tampa ranked second with a pedestrian fatality rate of 3.52 per 100,000 residents and a danger index of 205.5.

The Miami metropolitan area -- including Fort Lauderdale and surrounding communities as far north as Pompano Beach -- ranked third with an average pedestrian fatality rate of 3.04 and a danger index level at 181.2.

Gloria Katz, executive director of Fort Lauderdale-based Smart Growth Partnership, said the report highlights the shortcomings of areas that spend less on pedestrian facilities on roads.

``We in South Florida have not spent enough money to support policies of complete streets, which provide a method of transportation aside from cars, such as sidewalks and bicycle lanes,'' Katz said, saying the region spends a sixth of what others spend per person on bike lanes and pedestrian safety.

The report blames sprawling suburban-style growth for the danger to pedestrians.

``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 said.

The report said Hispanics and African Americans are particularly vulnerable because they ``drive less and walk more than other groups.'' The report said 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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