Walk SF’s executive director Jodie Medeiros is one of the ‘SF100’
A ‘solver’ who works tirelessly to prevent tragedies on our streets
Yesterday, Walk SF’s very own Jodie Medeiros was named on the SF Standard’s SF100 list, which recognizes some of the people who are shaping our city.
I’m so glad that Jodie, who’s served as Walk SF’s executive director since 2017, is getting some high-profile props for her tireless advocacy to make our streets safe for everyone who walks.
Jodie has led our small nonprofit through a lot, including the majority of the City’s first decade of Vision Zero, the pandemic, and some of the most heartbreaking pedestrian fatalities in San Francisco’s history.
The fact that Jodie is called a “solver” by the SF Standard is spot-on. She’s always looking for solutions and how to make them real – now – to prevent the tragedies that happen too often in our city, where around 40 people are killed and hundreds injured in traffic crashes each year.
You can read the SF Standard’s profile of Jodie here.
But I wanted to share a little more detail on how Jodie’s leadership is making our city better by taking on an issue that affects all of us, every day.
Speed cameras. The speed cameras that are launching at 33 locations in San Francisco – the first in California – are a result of eight years of advocacy led by Walk SF. In the final two iterations of the state legislation to make speed cameras legal, Jodie worked with state legislators, partner organizations from around the state, and San Francisco leaders to navigate pathways to passage (AB 645 was signed by Governor Newsom in October of 2023).
Most importantly, Jodie worked with and supported people who have been directly affected by a traffic crash to bring their stories straight to the State Capitol. These stories were instrumental in getting on-the-fence state legislators on board. Jodie was in dozens of meetings over the years in Sacramento, tirelessly pushing for this lifesaving solution that’s now making our city safer. Learn more.
JFK Promenade. On March 20, 2020, Jodie made the call that Walk SF would launch an online action where people could send an email to Mayor London Breed asking her to make JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park car-free to create space to be active with social distancing. Within 48 hours, nearly 2,000 people sent emails! On April 28, 2020, using emergency powers, Mayor Breed officially closed a 1.5-mile segment of JFK Drive to traffic 24 hours a day.
Walk SF ended up spending 15 months organizing and advocating for a permanently forever car-free, people-first, pedestrian oasis that’s now called ‘JFK Promenade.’ Throughout the campaign, Jodie worked relentlessly to identify and champion solutions for accessibility, speak out on the safety benefits of pedestrian spaces, and oversee Walk SF’s grassroots efforts to educate San Franciscans about this historic opportunity. Learn more.
Vision Zero. In 2014, San Francisco was the third city in the United States to adopt Vision Zero, a proactive approach and commitment by the City to end severe and fatal traffic crashes. Throughout Jodie’s time at Walk SF, nothing has been more in her sights than Vision Zero – and making San Francisco a success story.
Walk SF organizes dozens of groups across the city as the ‘Vision Zero Coalition’ to hold the City accountable on traffic safety. Walk SF hosts World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims each year, hangs memorial signs for fatal crash victims around the city, and is home to the local chapter of Families for Safe Streets. Right now, Walk SF is asking Mayor Daniel Lurie to step up his leadership on Vision Zero and make it the success story we need it to be for our safety and our city’s broader goals.
For too long, traffic violence has been a silent epidemic, often ignored or tacitly accepted. Jodie is never quiet about our right to be safe as pedestrians – and to demand more from our leaders.
Do you believe all of us, of every age and ability, should be safe walking in San Francisco? Support Walk SF with a donation today!
