The 10th World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims: united in grief and for change
On Sunday, standing in front of 317 pairs of white-painted shoes, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who have died in traffic crashes, and the thousands more injured.
It is not easy to face the heartbreak, to face the lives cut short, to face what’s happening far too often on our streets in San Francisco – and beyond.
This was the tenth year Walk SF and Bay Area Families for Safe Streets held World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in San Francisco.
We show up year after year because we have to. With our collective grief and anger – and our cry for change.
Because it was the tenth year of the event, as well as the ten-year anniversary of San Francisco adopting a Vision Zero policy and approach, we did some things differently this year.
In the week leading up to the event, we hung 317 memorial signs at every intersection where someone had been killed in a traffic crash in the past decade. This meant that for a few days, it was hard to go anywhere in the city without seeing one of these signs. That was exactly the point. No corner of San Francisco is untouched by traffic violence, and people must see what’s happening on our streets.
We also painted 317 shoes – ‘ghost shoes’ – for the temporary memorial on the steps of City Hall. Heartbreakingly, this included three pairs of baby shoes and two pairs of children’s shoes. May we never have to paint another pair of shoes for a baby or child again.
I’m grateful to the volunteers and staff who helped with both these projects, which were a difficult meditation on the toll of traffic violence.
At World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, it was hard but powerful to hear from some of the people who have been directly affected by a crash. One was Jenny Yu, who helped found the Bay Area chapter of Families for Safe Streets.
Jenny’s mother Judy was hit while crossing the street in the Richmond neighborhood. Judy was severely injured, including brain injuries. Judy requires 24-hour care from Jenny and her siblings.
“Every day, people like my mom are collateral damage for systems and streets designed to prioritize cars over our safety, to prioritize convenience over human life,” said Jenny.
She’s absolutely right. But this also means that there is hope for change. And that change is possible when we come together like we did on Sunday.
Standing with us on Sunday were loved ones of victims, crash survivors, community members, advocates, and city leaders – united in grief, and also united for change.
That is how we will keep winning the transformational changes needed to keep us all safe. Together.
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Sharing thanks
As Jenny Yu said, “We need decisionmakers to see the human lives behind their decisions.”
I’m deeply appreciative to the city leaders who attended the event, many of whom read the names of the 317 victims.
This includes: State Senator Scott Wiener; City Attorney David Chiu, District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar; District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman; District 3 Supervisor-Elect Danny Sauter; Former District 7 Supervisor Norman Yee, who helped found the Bay Area Families for Safe Streets chapter; Tilly Chang, Executive Director of SF County Transportation Authority; Jeffrey Tumlin, SFMTA Director of Transportation; Viktoriya Wise, SFMTA Director of Streets; Janet Tarlov, SFMTA Board of Directors; Mike Chen, SFMTA Board of Directors; and Commander Nicole Jones with the SF Police Department.
Media coverage
We’re grateful that so many reporters covered this event, helping more people see the toll of traffic violence.
Highlights of coverage leading up to and at World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims:
- Survivors, loved ones remember tragedy of road traffic victims in SF – KRON4 News
- San Francisco remembers traffic victims 10 years into ‘Vision Zero’ commitment – ABC7 News
- San Francisco pedestrian safety advocates memorializing victims of traffic collisions – KTVU FOX 2
- SF Safety groups hang memorials at hundreds of intersections where pedestrians were killed – KQED
Banner image by William McLeod
