Katie Gordon stands beside the poster that hangs at the intersection where her husband, Jason Gordon, was killed. (Photo by Juri Kim)
On March 18, Families for Safe Streets San Diego and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition launched a traffic safety campaign, “Our neighbor was killed here.”
Volunteers gathered at the Bicycle Coalition office at 9 a.m. before dispersing around the city to hang posters at the locations of every crash that killed a bicyclist or pedestrian since 2021. The posters include QR codes connected to a webpage where the viewers can easily email Mayor Todd Gloria and their council member to request more funding for traffic safety.
“Despite the City of San Diego’s pledge to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2025, more people are dying on San Diego’s streets than ever before,” said Will Rhatigan, Advocacy Director for the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition. “We hope that this campaign will serve as a visual reminder to all San Diegans that when we fail to build safe sidewalks, bike lanes, and intersections, our neighbors are killed. We know that safe streets save lives, and we are calling on Mayor Todd Gloria and the San Diego City Council to invest in the proven road safety measures that will prevent any other families from losing their loved ones to crashes.”
While this crisis of traffic violence has impacted people in every walk of life, it has hurt cyclists, pedestrians, and wheelchair users the most. Between 2012 and 2021, the number of pedestrians killed in San Diego County nearly doubled, from 58 to 101. In the 2021, the number of cyclists killed in San Diego County reached 17, setting the highest bicycle fatality rate of any large county in California.
The campaign is intended to spread awareness of the growing epidemic of vulnerable road users being killed on the streets of San Diego and show public support for ending traffic deaths.
One of the volunteers, Katie Gordon, lost her husband in a traffic collision three years ago. Her twin children were one years old at that time.
“We need more comfortable walking and biking places,” said Gordon. “I don’t want him to be forgotten. This tragic experience should not be repeated to other families.”
Another widow spoke out at the event about losing her spouse.
“No family should have to experience the pain that we will carry for life and when it comes to traffic deaths, it is nearly 100% preventable,” said Laura Keenan, founder of the Families for Safe Streets San Diego chapter. “We hope that elected officials will use our voices and stories to help them push through needed changes in a sadly contentious space. We also hope that our voices can unify the community and refocus the conversation away from parking spaces, travel lanes, or traffic congestion towards what really matters: saving lives.”
While the causes of increasing traffic fatalities are complex–including heavier vehicles and distracted driving–the solutions are clear, according to these activists. Installing a protected bikeway on an urban road can reduce crashes by over 80%. Replacing a stoplight with a roundabout can reduce fatal or serious injury-causing crashes by 80%. While the risk of death for a pedestrian or cyclist is only 10% when hit by a car traveling 23 miles per hour (mph), that risk increases to 50% when a car is traveling 42 mph. Lowering speeds in the places people bike and walk saves lives.
To begin saving lives in San Diego immediately, Families for Safe Streets San Diego and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition asked the Mayor and City Council to commit to three actions in the emails sent from the poster QR cordes:
- Double the funding for San Diego’s quick-build bikeways program in Fiscal Year 2024, to enable it to build 18 miles of connected, protected bikeways each year.
- In Fiscal Year 2024, upgrade 15 of San Diego’s most deadly intersections with lead pedestrian intervals, high-visibility crosswalks, and other lifesaving safety measures.
- By the end of 2023, approve an updated Bicycle Master Plan that follows NACTO’s Guidelines for building bike facilities for people of all ages and abilities, and commit to strict deadlines for implementation.
