PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 24, 2024
CONTACT: Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director, Walk SF, jodie@walksf.org, 415.596.1580 (cell)
Pedestrian killed in the Tenderloin at Ellis and Jones is 9th this year
Despite many effective safe street improvements in the neighborhood, two pedestrians lives lost in this neighborhood in 2024
San Francisco, Calif. – Walk SF learned from the SF Police Department that on May 23, a pedestrian was fatally hit by a box truck while crossing Ellis Street near Jones Street. Walk San Francisco has no additional details at this time.
“We are deeply saddened by this loss of life and our hearts go out to this person’s loved ones,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco.
Walk San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets community stand ready to support the friends and loved ones of the victim however possible.
There have now been nine pedestrian deaths in San Francisco in 2024; The first pedestrian death in 2024 was a 63-year-old man on January 31st at Fulton and Arguello. The second was a 31-year-old man, David Bridges Jr., who was hit and killed at 6th and Bryant Street on February 8, 2024 by a hit-and-run driver. The third was a 76-year-old man who was hit crossing at Alemany Boulevard at Rousseau Street in the Excelsior neighborhood on February 25, 2024. The fourth was Michael Lukehart, a 41-year-old man who was fatally hit by a driver on March 2, 2024 at the intersection of Golden Gate Avenue and Hyde Street. The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth deaths were those of Diego Cardoso de Oliveira (40); Matilde Moncado Ramos Pinto (38); Joaquim Ramos Pinto de Oliveira (2); and Cauê Ramos Pinto de Oliveira (3 months), who were killed while waiting at a West Portal bus stop.
While both Ellis Street and Jones Street are on the City’s “high-injury network,” the 12% of streets where 68% of traffic crashes occur, both streets have had safety improvements in recent years.
In 2016, Ellis Street was converted from a one-way arterial to a two-way street at Jones heading west.. However, Ellis Street is still a two-lane one-way street from Market/Stockton to Jones, for four blocks. This street design encourages faster speeds by drivers.
The Jones Street ‘Vision Zero Quick Build’ project completed in 2022 reduced the number of traffic lanes on Jones Street from three to two. Speed limits were also lowered to 20 MPH throughout the Tenderloin neighborhood in 2021. And 95% of streets (all except Larkin Street) have received ‘Vision Zero Quick Build’ safety improvements.
“We are grateful to the SFMTA for bringing safety improvements throughout the Tenderloin,” said Medeiros. “This is a neighborhood where for decades, the streets were designed to prioritize fast-moving traffic over safety, despite the fact that most households in the neighborhood do not own a car. Positive changes in recent years have led to fewer crashes. However, the reality is many drivers continue to use this neighborhood as a cut-through. More needs to be done so that everyone who lives, works, and walks in the Tenderloin is safe from the significant amount of traffic going through this neighborhood..”
San Francisco just reached the ten-year anniversary of committing to Vision Zero, a proactive approach to end severe and fatal traffic crashes that’s been proven successful in many places around the world.
“Tragedies like this are a deeply painful reminder of how much work remains for San Francisco to realize Vision Zero. While important progress has been made by the City, the pace and scale isn’t enough given the threat we all face on our streets.”
Speed is the #1 cause of severe and fatal traffic crashes in San Francisco, and as vehicles become larger, heavier, and more powerful, the stakes with driving fast become even higher for a pedestrian if they are hit.
Pedestrians are highly vulnerable as speed rises above 25 MPH. The most frequently cited study on speed and risk of fatality shows that at 25 MPH and under, a person has a less than 1 in 4 chance of being severely injured or killed if they are hit. But by 40 MPH, this flips, with 75% of pedestrians suffering life-threatening injuries or dying. And the larger and heavier a vehicle is, the more likely a crash is to kill.
17 people were killed while walking in San Francisco in 2023. Pedestrians accounted for 65% of all traffic-related fatalities. Nationally, pedestrian deaths are at a 40-year historic high.
“The frightening reality for pedestrians is that we face bigger, heavier, more powerful vehicles, more trucks, and more dangerous driving,” said Medeiros. “Every possible solution is needed to design and enforce streets so we are all safe.”
San Francisco will launch 33 speed cameras in early 2025. A speed camera will be placed in the Tenderloin neighborhood at Turk Street near Van Ness. Beyond speed cameras, Walk SF is asking additional actions to address dangerous speeding. Read more.
Walk SF is also sponsoring State Senator Scott Wiener’s new safe streets bills, SB 961.
SB 961 would require all cars and trucks manufactured or sold in California starting in 2027 (except emergency vehicles) to have ‘Intelligent Speed Assistance’ technology. All new vehicles in Europe will have this starting this summer. SB 961 would require audio and visual warnings to the driver when the vehicle is being operated in excess of 10 MPH over the speed limit. On May 21, SB 961 passed out of the State Senate and will now make its way to the Assembly.
Citywide, around 30 people are killed and more than 500 severely injured each year on San Francisco streets. Older adults make up 50% of these fatalities annually.
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Walk San Francisco (‘Walk SF’) advocates for safe streets for everyone who walks, which is everyone. Since our founding in 1998, Walk SF has been leading the way to make San Francisco a pedestrian-first city where people of every age and ability can walk safely. Learn more.
San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets is a group of people who have been directly affected by traffic crashes, including crash survivors and people whose loved ones have been killed or injured in traffic crashes. Learn more.