With more than six months left until the end of this year, 2024 is already outpacing 2023 regarding recorded pedestrian deaths.
San Francisco is on pace to break the annual pedestrian death toll the City recorded in 2023. The first death of this year involved a senior citizen who was fatally struck crossing the street near Golden Gate Park; the sixth, seventh, and eighth pedestrian deaths recorded for this year were the result of a fatal crash that struck a West Portal bus stop, killing a young family of three.
On Thursday, May 23rd, Walk San Francisco — the local nonprofit organized around creating more pedestrian-friendly corridors in San Francisco — learned from the San Francisco Police Department that a pedestrian was hit by a box truck while crossing Ellis and Jones streets; the individual was later pronounced dead, due to injuries sustained from the crash; no other details around the fatal crash have yet to be released by SFPD.
According to the nonprofit, Ellis Street was converted from a one-way arterial to a two-way street at Jones heading west in 2016, helping create a safe corridor for pedestrians.
The Jones Street ‘Vision Zero Quick Build’ project was completed in 2022 and reduced the number of traffic lanes on Jones Street from three to two; speed limits were also lowered then to 20 mph throughout the Tenderloin neighborhood in 2021; as of publishing, 95% of streets in downtown San Francisco have lowered speed limits — because the greatest variable in determining whether or not a pedestrian survives a collision with a vehicle is the speed of the car, truck, or bus.
“[The Tenderloin] is a neighborhood where for decades, the streets were designed to prioritize fast-moving traffic over safety, even though most households in the neighborhood do not own a car,” tells Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco, in a news release. “Positive changes in recent years have led to fewer crashes. However, the reality is many drivers continue to use this neighborhood as a cut-through. More needs to be done so that everyone who lives, works, and walks in the Tenderloin is safe from the significant amount of traffic going through this neighborhood.”
The death of the yet-named pedestrian comes on the tail end of San Francisco reaching its tenth anniversary of committing to Vision Zero, a proactive approach to end severe and fatal traffic crashes. Though it’s had merits and strides in bolstering safer roads for pedestrians and drivers, the initiative has come under increasing scrutiny recently due to lackluster outcomes.
A *chef’s kiss,” long-form report by Mission Local noted, among other glaring facts the publication butted up against failed promises, 299 people have been killed on SF streets over the past decade. In 2022, deaths totaled 39 — “more than in any year since 2007.”
2023 saw 17 people killed while walking in San Francisco, and City data shows pedestrians made up 65% of all traffic-related fatalities. Nationally, pedestrian deaths are at a 40-year historic high.
“The frightening reality for pedestrians is that we face bigger, heavier, more powerful vehicles, more trucks, and more dangerous driving,” said Medeiros. “Every possible solution is needed to design and enforce streets so we are all safe.”
Feature image: Screenshot via Google Maps
