Skip links

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR RELEASE: May 13, 2019

CONTACT: Marta Lindsey, Communications Manager, Walk SF, marta@walksf.org, 617-833-7654 (cell)

Vigil today at 5PM for pedestrian who died Saturday; 10 people have died walking and biking already in 2019

On Monday, May 13, from 5:00-6:00 PM, Walk San Francisco hold its second vigil for victims of traffic violence in a little more than a week.

The most recent victim of traffic violence was a 66-year-old man hit at Hyde Street and Golden Gate Avenue on May 11; he died at the hospital the same night. The vigil will be held at the site of the crash.

On March 5, Janice Higashi was fatally hit just one block away while walking to lunch during jury duty, at Leavenworth Street and Golden Gate Avenue. Every single street in the Tenderloin neighborhood is on the high-injury network.

Ten people have now died while walking and biking in 2019 on San Francisco streets. At the vigil, there will be signs representing each of these people.

At the vigil, we will put temporary shoe prints on the sidewalk in memory. We will create a memorial for all victims by writing messages on yellow hearts and hanging these for display. Reverend Harry Williams from Glide will offer a reflection and prayer.

We will also call on the City to act quickly to fix all dangerous intersections in the Tenderloin to prevent future crashes. This includes installing pedestrian scrambles at Hyde and Golden Gate – and every possible intersection in the Tenderloin within a month. The City must also fully fund the Safer Taylor Street project immediately. On Taylor Street in the Tenderloin between Market and Sutter, someone walking or biking is injured in a traffic collision an average of once each month.

Location: Hyde Street and Golden Gate Avenue.

Date and Time: Monday, May 13, 2019 from 5:00-6:00PM

Attending:

  • Marta Lindsey, Walk San Francisco
  • Supervisor Matt Haney, District 6
  • Reverend Harry Williams, Glide
  • Charles Deffarges, SF Bicycle Coalition
  • Resident leaders from the Tenderloin Traffic Safety Taskforce
  • Greg Moore, Safe Passage (Safe Passage helps an estimated 3,500 children safely navigate their way to and from school, and other activities, in the Tenderloin.)

Related Facts:

  • The nine pedestrians lost in 2019 are: Unknown (May 11); Lucy Morales; Nancy Ng; Zhao Guan; Jose Manuel Haros Carrasco; Janice Higashi; Madlen Koteva; Pablo Ramirez; and Galina Alterman. Tess Rothstein was hit and killed while riding her bike in 2019.
  • Five of the nine pedestrians killed in 2019 were seniors; on average half of pedestrian deaths each year are seniors, though they make up only 15% of the city’s population.
  • In San Francisco, on average, more than three people a day are hit by cars while walking.
  • In 2017, there were close to 575 people severely injured in traffic crashes on our streets, and this figure has not improved in the past seven years the City has been monitoring it.
  • Of all severe and fatal crashes in San Francisco, 75% happen on only 13% of our streets. These streets, our city’s most dangerous, are called high-injury corridors. All streets in the Tenderloin are designated as high-injury.

# # #

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 at walksf.org.