The reality is that due to zoning laws children have to travel by car or bus, which is inherently less safe. Zoning laws have made USA into a terrible environment for everyone. People don’t even know what it’s like to run errands and just walk or bike.
There are no zoning laws separating residential areas from schools. The civil rights laws are what caused American children to need to be driven to school.
The USA is already that safe.
> Try to imagine what a society could look like if it's designed for people first, not traffic.
The normal approach is to build overpasses or underpasses so that pedestrians have no need to go into the road.
https://tylervigen.com/the-mystery-of-the-bloomfield-bridge