On Friday, November 18, the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition and the Families for Safe Streets organization hosted an eye-watering vigil at the Civic Center to observe the world day of remembrance for road traffic victims. City Council members Sean Elo-Rivera, Raul Campillo, and Stephen Whitburn joined the grieving families, and the ceremony also included a recorded speech from Mayor Todd Gloria.
Families for Safe Streets, a group of San Diego families who have lost loved ones in traffic crashes, placed 294 pairs of empty shoes on the steps of the Civic Center Fountain to represent the 294 people who were killed in traffic crashes in San Diego County in 2021.
Speakers from Families for Safe Streets then shared stories of those that they have lost due to traffic crashes, all of whom were cycling in designated biking lanes, and a call to eliminate traffic crashes in the future.
“No family should have to experience the pain that we will carry for life,” said Laura Keenan, founder of the Families for Safe Streets San Diego chapter. “Traffic deaths are almost 100% preventable. 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.”
Despite the City of San Diego’s 2015 Vision Zero pledge to eliminate all traffic fatalities by 2025, more people died in traffic crashes in 2021 than in any time within the last decade. The increased amount of crashes has affected the most vulnerable road users the most: cyclists, pedestrians, and people using wheelchairs have all been involved in more traffic crashes than previously before.
“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. “Each of these deaths is the tragic consequence of our historical failure to prioritize safety over speed. We know that safe streets save lives, and we are calling on our leaders at all levels of government to invest in the proven road safety measures that will prevent any other families from losing their loved ones to crashes.”
In order to eliminate traffic deaths, members of Families for Safe Streets and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition are demanding the city to commit to three actions:
- Double the funding for San Diego’s quick-build bikeways program in Fiscal Year 2024, to enable it to build eighteen miles of connected, protected bikeways each year.
- By June 30th, 2024, lower speed limits and build physical traffic calming measures on all eight of San Diego’s most dangerous Vision Zero Corridors.
- 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.
Members of both organizations spoke at length on how installing a protected, separate bikeway could easily prevent traffic deaths on many San Diego roadways. Speakers also called for a change in the city’s approach, so it transitions from a responsive to preventative approach to ending traffic crashes.
Multiple speakers shared how protected bike lanes were built on the same roads their loved ones passed away on—after they were hit and killed.
“It took my husband and one other person being killed less than a year later on the same road for the city to install a protected bike lane,” said an attendee of the vigil. “The city needs to become proactive and build protected bike lanes before people die.”
Mayor Gloria and City Council members shared their condolences with the grieving families, and promised a proactive and preventative response to ending traffic violence.
“Most of San Diego was built as a car-centric city with jobs and homes spread out away from the urban center and too little focus on making our streets safer for all users. My administration is trying to shift that mindset and prioritize safety and mobility,” Gloria said in a video address to the crowd.
“We’re including bike lanes in many of our road repair projects, such as the recent ones added on Park Boulevard and 47th Street,” said Mayor Gloria. “We’re continuously working on a mobility Master Plan, which will include new policies and strategies to advance safety for all road users. Recently, the San Diego police department received a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to help fund activities that emphasize the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians.”
