Here's a new twist on an old joke: Why did the Pittsburgher cross the road? Because he could get to the other side without being killed or maimed. That's good news.

In the last 15 years, more than 76,000 Americans have been killed while crossing or walking in their community due to poorly designed streets or sidewalks. And it turns out that Pittsburgh is one of the safest metro areas in the country for pedestrians, ranking 49th out of 52 in degree of danger.

You don't have to be a chicken to cross the road in Pittsburgh; you can do it with a fair degree of confidence. Or so suggests a new study called "Dangerous by Design," which was compiled for Transportation of America, a coalition of groups seeking to shape federal transportation policy to positive effect.

The organization's findings may come as a shock to Pittsburghers themselves, especially those who witness pedestrians swarming across Downtown streets as if the lights don't apply to them. Still, we'll take the study's compliment and embellish it.

Although the report was strictly about sensible street designs, before pedestrians are able to cross the road they must first feel safe enough from crime to be walking around outside -- and the Golden Triangle is much safer on that score than many other American cities. All in all, we have good news to take in our stride.

Cartoonist Rob Rogers does "Rob's Rough," an early look at his work and his creative process, exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.