We have a crisis on our streets

Enough is enough: the City must take aggressive steps to halt traffic violence

Ten weeks into 2019, we have lost five pedestrians and one bicyclist to traffic violence.

This is more than a wake-up call. This is a crisis. And it must be treated as such.

The pace at which our city is delivering on Vision Zero is too slow, especially in the face of the massive influx of vehicles on our streets, and we’re losing precious lives in the meantime. It’s heartbreaking and unacceptable.

Today, Walk SF asks our city leaders to take aggressive action in three ways to make our streets safer for our most vulnerable road users.

1. This week, Mayor Breed asked the SFMTA staff to move forward with quick, near-term safety enhancements on all of our known most dangerous streets. Walk SF wants to see a list of projects within three weeks with timelines for all 100+ high-injury network streets that will receive enhancements by 2020.

2. Move up construction of the 6th Street Pedestrian Improvement Project. This project was approved in fall of 2018 but not scheduled for construction until 2020. That’s too long.

3. 100% transparency and accountability for Vision Zero projects. We have had no way of tracking the progress-to-date on the high-injury network. Walk SF and the Vision Zero Coalition request an update from the Mayor’s new transportation policy director on the actions and metrics from the 2014-2018 Vision Zero projects. Moving forward, we expect reports every 3-6 months from the Mayor’s Office to allow for greater accountability for Vision Zero.

Of all places, we can make San Francisco a city where everyone can get around safely.

We believe firmly that the people who live and work in San Francisco stand with us in wanting to end traffic violence.

Every time we lose another innocent victim to traffic violence, it is a black mark on our city and its ideals for all people.