As we mourn the loss of 10 pedestrians, we demand action. Join us June 7.

At Walk San Francisco, we believe our streets should be safe for everyone who walks, of every age and ability.

We know all too well this isn’t the case. Ten pedestrians have been killed this year already. Last Thursday, we held a vigil with Families for Safe Streets to acknowledge these lives lost too soon.

Standing there at 3rd and Mission, where a mother and daughter were hit and killed on May 22, I took in the streets before me. Lanes of traffic, moving far too quickly especially given the huge number of people walking in the area. Neighbors, visibly shaken, stopped and told me about close calls they’d had crossing there. Streets like these must be fundamentally redesigned to prioritize our safety.

If you share my frustration with the pace and ambition of safe streets improvements, I hope you’ll speak out with me at the Tuesday, June 7th SFCTA meeting which has several Vision Zero items on the agenda.

We need your voice to help hold the City accountable to its Vision Zero commitments, including to:

• Complete at least 20 Vision Zero Quick Build projects each year (including 2022) so that all 160 miles of high-injury streets have had meaningful safety fixes by 2024. This is the commitment the City made in its new Vision Zero Action Strategy, and it cannot fall behind on this essential goal.
• Lower speed limits to 20MPH on the 35 identified eligible business corridors citywide, plus complete the evaluation for eligibility of the miles of streets in the Financial District, SoMa, Mission Bay, North Beach, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Chinatown by December 31. Speed continues to be the #1 cause of severe and fatal crashes in San Francisco – and bringing down speeds is the fastest way to save lives.
• Expedite and expand the use of left turn calming, no-turn-on-red, and pedestrian safety zones throughout the high-injury network. These low-cost solutions are proven to keep us safer in the crosswalk.

The SFCTA meeting will be held from 10:00am to 12:00pm on Tuesday, June 7 and you can speak in person at City Hall or call in. The two Vision Zero agenda items are #11 and #12 and we will alert you when these items begin (view the full agenda).

Our voices can make big things happen for safe streets. So please sign up if you might be able to speak, and we’ll share all the details.

Banner image by Sergio Ruiz. This photo is from the May 26 vigil at 3rd and Mission Streets.