PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 14, 2025
CONTACT: Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director, Walk SF, jodie@walksf.org, 415.596.1580; Marta Lindsey, Communications Director, Walk SF, marta@walksf.org, 617.833.7654
Memorial for traffic crash victims to be built outside City Hall on Sunday
Sunday, November 16, 2025 is World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims – EVENT IS RAIN OR SHINE
WHEN & WHERE: Sunday, November 16, 2025, 5:00-6:00 PM on the steps of City Hall on Polk Street (1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Pl.). EVENT IS RAIN OR SHINE.
WHAT: San Francisco will hold its 11th annual World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Victims on Sunday, November 16, 2025, from 5:00PM – 6:00PM on the steps of City Hall in San Francisco.
World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is a global event honoring the millions of people hurt and killed in traffic crashes each year. The event also demands an end to these devastating and preventable tragedies.
For the past 11 years, Walk SF and the Bay Area chapter of Families for Safe Streets have held World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in San Francisco.
At the heart of the event is a group of people who have been directly affected by traffic crashes, including people who have had loved ones hurt or killed, and those who have survived a crash.
A temporary altar will be built on the steps of City Hall The altar will include a ‘ghost bike’, ‘ghost walker’ and ‘ghost stroller’ representing bicyclists, seniors, and children killed in traffic crashes. There will also be photos and other items to remember victims on display.
Speakers at the event include:
- State Senator Scott Wiener
- Myrna Melgar, District 7 Supervisor and author of the new Street Safety Act
- Jodie Medeiros, executive director, Walk San Francisco
- Jenny Yu, co-founder and member of San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets (FSS). Jenny’s mother Judy was hit and severely injured by a speeding driver while crossing Park Presidio Boulevard on February 22, 2011. Judy suffered a ruptured spleen, collapsed lung, multiple fractures, and a severe traumatic brain injury. Judy lives today with significant cognitive impairment, PTSD, and suicidal tendencies.
Victims’ names will be read by City leaders in attendance. Confirmed to attend:
- State Senator Scott Wiener
- City Attorney David Chiu
- Stephen Sherrill, District 2 Supervisor
- Danny Sauter, District 3 Supervisor
- Myrna Melgar, District 7 Supervisor
- Rafael Mandelman, District 8 Supervisor
- Dean Crispin, Chief, SF Fire Department
- Carla Short, Director, Department of Public Works
- Tilly Chang, Executive Director of SF County Transportation Authority
- Julie Kirschbaum, SFMTA Director of Transportation
- Viktoriya Wise, SFMTA Director of Streets
- Janet Tarlov, SFMTA Board of Directors, Chair
- Mike Chen, SFMTA Board, Member of the Vision Zero Coalition
A candlelit vigil with live music and stories of loved ones will be led by Chaplain DeAnna Christmas.
Walk SF’s executive director, Jodie Medeiros, will be available for interviews, as well as some members of the victims’ group, Bay Area Families for Safe Streets.
Walk SF and Families for Safe Streets are calling on City leaders to work quickly to implement what’s in the newly passed Street Safety Act. The Street Safety Act recommits San Francisco to Vision Zero and lays out a suite of interagency actions and accountability for accelerated progress to end severe and fatal traffic crashes. Learn more about the Street Safety Act.
World Day of Remembrance is hosted by San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets and Walk San Francisco.
**EVENT IS RAIN OR SHINE**
5:00: Gathering & Welcome. Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director of Walk San Francisco, and Jenny Yu, Founding Member of Bay Area Families for Safe Streets, will speak.
5:10-5:14. State Senator Scott Wiener and District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar speak.
5:15-5:30. Reading of the Names. The names of all those killed in traffic crashes on San Francisco streets since January 2014 will be read by City leaders and agency officials.
5:30 Song. Local musician John Elliott will perform. Attendees will place candles and flowers within the memorial throughout the song.
5:35 Vigil & Blessing. Chaplain DeAnna Christmas will lead the vigil. Members of Families for Safe Streets will share memorials about their loved ones.
5:50-6:00 Closing & Event Ends
VISUALS:
- A temporary altar across the steps of City Hall photos of crash victims, with pairs of ‘ghost’ shoes, and a ‘ghost’ stroller, bicycle, and walker, all painted white.
- Loved ones of crash victims and crash survivors holding memorial photos of San Francisco traffic crash victims.
- City Hall lit in yellow in honor of traffic victims.
BACKGROUND:
In San Francisco, around 30 people are killed in traffic crashes each year, and more than 500 severely injured. So far this year, as of November 13, 21 have died in traffic crashes. 13 were pedestrians, and of these 10 were seniors. Each year, pedestrians make up the greatest share of fatalities and continue to be the most vulnerable on our streets. As of November 13, 2025, 21 people have died in traffic crashes this year and 14 were pedestrians.
348 people have been killed in traffic crashes since January 2014 and around 5,000 have been severely injured. 2014 is when the City of San Francisco first adopted Vision Zero, and was the third city in the United States to do so. Vision Zero is a data-driven, preventative approach and commitment to end severe and fatal traffic crashes.
While San Francisco has been making important changes to many dangerous streets in the past decade, and is now using new tools like speed cameras, much work remains to adequately address traffic safety. The past decade has also brought significant new challenges on our streets, like: increased traffic from delivery trucks and rideshare services; larger, heavier, and more powerful vehicles; and a rise in dangerous and aggressive driving behaviors.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the Street Safety Act on September 16 (read more). The Street Safety Act recommits the City to ending severe and fatal crashes, gets agencies to collaborate and work more efficiently, and focuses on bringing the most effective solutions to scale, including reducing dangerous speeding in more ways. This includes:
- Reforming the Residential Traffic Calming Program so it takes a proactive, neighborhood-scale approach to adding speed humps, tables, and more to bring down speeds on smaller streets.
- Planning how to sufficiently redesign all high-injury streets with solutions including turn calming, signal timing, and lane reductions to better design streets that keep drivers going at safe speeds.
- Further embracing automated enforcement.
- Requiring the SFPD to develop a traffic enforcement plan that complements the speed camera program.
Walk SF is calling on Mayor Daniel Lurie and City agency leaders to work quickly so agencies adopt detailed plans and directives to implement the Street Safety Act, and bring greater interagency accountability to deliver traffic safety improvements.
SOCIAL MEDIA
#WDoR2025 @walksf @bayareafss
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World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is a global event honoring the 1.35 million people killed and millions more injured in traffic crashes each year. This is San Francisco’s tenth annual World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Victims. World Day of Remembrance is hosted by San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets and Walk San Francisco. Learn more at walksf.org/WDR.
Walk San Francisco (‘Walk SF’) advocates on behalf of all pedestrians in San Francisco. Since its founding in 1998, Walk SF has successfully pushed for solutions to design and enforce streets where people of all ages and abilities are safe walking. 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.