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Media Advisory: Pedestrian killed on Geneva Avenue is the sixth in a decade on this deadly San Francisco street

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 29, 2025

CONTACT: Marta Lindsey, Communications Director, Walk SF, marta@walksf.org, 617.833.7654

Pedestrian killed on Geneva Avenue is the sixth in a decade on this deadly San Francisco street

Speed camera will be installed on Geneva Avenue in March

San Francisco, Calif. – Walk SF learned from the San Francisco Police Department that a 77-year-old female who was hit by a driver on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at the intersection of Carter Street and Geneva Avenue succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. No additional information is available at this time. 

“We grieve the loss of life on our streets, and are heartbroken for this woman’s loved ones,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco. “We hold the victim and her loved ones in our thoughts.”

Walk San Francisco (Walk SF) and San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets (Families for Safe Streets) are here to support the friends and loved ones of the victim however possible. 

This is the second pedestrian death in San Francisco so far this year. The first was an 81-year-old man who was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Saturday, January 4, 2025 at the intersection of Silver Avenue and Colby Street.

Geneva Avenue is a deadly street for pedestrians. There have been five other pedestrian fatalities along Geneva Avenue in the past ten years alone. Geneva Avenue has five travel lanes and a 30 MPH speed limit that many drivers far exceed. The crash site is near multiple affordable senior and family housing sites as well as McLaren Park. 

Significant speed issues and high traffic crash rates on Geneva Avenue are why the SFMTA chose Geneva Avenue as one of the 33 locations across the city to have a speed camera installed when the City launches this lifesaving technology in March. Geneva Avenue will receive a speed camera between Prague Street and Brookdale Avenue, which is one block away from the crash site at Carter Street and Geneva Avenue. 

“Geneva Street has been far too dangerous for far too long,” said Medeiros. “We don’t know if speed was a factor in the tragedy earlier this month. But we do know that a speed camera on Geneva Street will go a long way in protecting lives by slowing down drivers.”

24 people were killed while walking in San Francisco in 2024, the highest number in a decade. A total of 42 people were killed in traffic crashes in San Francisco in 2024, the highest number since 2007. 

Speed is the #1 cause of severe and fatal traffic crashes in San Francisco. The faster a driver is going, the more likely a crash is to occur. A driver has a smaller scope of vision, less time to react, and can’t stop the vehicle as quickly. With vehicles larger, heavier, and more powerful than ever – plus drivers more distracted – the stakes with speeding have never been higher.

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.

Walk San Francisco worked for six years to pass state legislation allowing speed cameras to be piloted in San Francisco.

“Speed cameras are a proven technology that saves lives,” said Medeiros. “Speed cameras can be the start of a new era for San Francisco making meaningful progress on Vision Zero. Addressing dangerous speeding needs to be at the heart of how the City ends severe and fatal crashes.”

Beyond speed cameras, Walk SF is asking for the City to take additional actions to address dangerous speeding beyond speed cameras alone. This includes:

  • Lowering speed limits on every possible street; reducing lanes on the widest, fastest streets to calm traffic
  • Dramatically expanding turn calming’ to slow drivers making turns
  • Adopting a comprehensive plan and supportive interagency policies to reduce speeds in a variety of ways including a proactive, streamlined approach for adding speed humps in many more locations

“Last year was the deadliest year in a decade for traffic fatalities in San Francisco,” said Medeiros. “City leaders must take every possible action to turn things around and bring Vision Zero back into focus.”

Walk San Francisco is also urging the SFMTA to commit to painting ‘daylighting’ at all intersections in San Francisco by December 2026. Daylighting removes parking next to intersections to ensure clear sightlines, and reduces crashes by 30%. Learn more. 

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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.