On the other hand, in Amsterdam there's usually going to be some sort of grocery store somewhere in walking or biking distance; and a lot of train stations have grocery stores too, so you can just pick up some last minute shopping on the way back from work for instance.
That usually indicates your city is a huge suburbia with a few skyscrapers in the middle.
Bad city design leads to bad results, and a higher speed limit won't solve your problems.
Fast motorways are incredibly safe because no pedestrians and energy absorbing crash barriers and traffic control/monitoring. There are exceptions e.g. where there is fog for example.
Fast roads in cities should ideally be designed so it is really hard for pedestrians to get on them except at the intersections.