PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 8, 2019
CONTACT: Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director, Walk SF, jodie@walksf.org, 415-596-1580 (cell)
Marta Lindsey, Communications Director, Walk SF, marta@walksf.org, 617-833-7654 (cell)
Pedestrian hit last week succumbs to injuries; marks 17th person killed while walking or biking
San Francisco, Calif. – We are deeply saddened to learn that the person hit while walking at 16th Street and De Haro on November 2 succumbed to their injuries. Our deepest condolences go out to the victim’s family. Walk San Francisco and members of the San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets stand ready to support the victim’s family and friends however possible.
This death marks the 17th person killed while walking or biking in San Francisco so far this year.
“We grieve yet another life lost to traffic violence,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco. “We hold the loved ones of the victim close in our thoughts.”
On Tuesday, November 5, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to declare a state of emergency for traffic safety.
In the wake of horrific fatal traffic crashes in July involving pedestrians combined with an alarming rise in pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities, Walk San Francisco together with Supervisor Matt Haney and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition asked city leaders to declare a state of emergency for traffic safety.
“It’s clear we have a public health crisis happening on our streets today in terms of traffic safety,” said Medeiros. “Having the entire Board of Supervisors officially recognize this earlier this week was huge. Now we’ll be making sure they take action that’s commensurate to the crisis.”
Walk San Francisco is pushing to reduce speeds on city streets. The faster a vehicle is going, the more likely its driver is to cause a traffic crash – and to severely injure or kill the person who is hit.
“We think the #1 thing San Francisco can to do make streets safer is to get aggressive on speed,” said Medeiros. “Police enforcement of speeding has plummeted, and without more enforcement of traffic laws, we will continue to see people die just going about their daily business. If the SFPD doesn’t have enough officers to focus on street safety, we need to pass state laws that gives us the jurisdiction to use speed safety cameras to enforce our laws. And we need the deadliest streets to get the kind of serious improvements that will prioritize safety over speed.”
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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 at walksf.org.