IMO it's because we (americans) are in an oligarchy, and barring modifications to the urban fabric that stem from (often repetitive) loss of life, there are no

IMO it's because we (americans) are in an oligarchy, and barring modifications to the urban fabric that stem from (often repetitive) loss of life, there are no massive corporations to bankroll or lobby for pedestrian and urban mobility enhancements. I mean, we just got a signalized crosswalk on a state highway to my city's most popular custard stand, 3 years after a student was killed by drivers and others were injured. https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/17-year-old-hit-killed-car-outside-ted-drewes-chippewa/63-3d2d394f-7cae-4739-9c85-d90e8e3675cb https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/17-year-old-hit-kill... || https://www.stlpr.org/news-briefs/2025-07-16/deadly-crossing-ted-drewes-safety-improvements-three-years-later https://www.stlpr.org/news-briefs/2025-07-16/deadly-crossing... and even still, the only thing separating the highway and a crowd of 100+ people in line for custard is a fence on an 8-12" tall curb https://maps.app.goo.gl/2pD9mSzr9yTAK1z19 https://maps.app.goo.gl/2pD9mSzr9yTAK1z19 I wish we had a society where the "real" felony is developing harmful infrastructure in the first place. Manslaughterers losing their license or going to jail, and band-aid fixes like paint, signals, and frangible fences do actually nothing to prevent the next fatality.