A coalition of state transportation advocates today urged Congress to increase funding for pedestrian safety.

Transportation for Pennsylvania, a coalition formed to address the state’s infrastructure and funding problems, said 297 pedestrians were killed in the state last year and cited a study that determined most of the deaths were preventable.

The national report, “Dangerous by Design: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths (and Making Great Neighborhoods),” said pedestrian fatalities typically occur along streets designed to encourage speeding traffic and that lack safe sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian signals and other protections.