Someone is killed in a vehicle collision in San Francisco on average about once every 12 days. On Sunday, many of those victims were remembered with a temporary memorial made of 317 pairs of white painted “ghost shoes” on the steps of San Francisco City Hall.
Each shoe pair carried the name of someone killed in traffic on the city’s streets since 2014, when San Francisco committed to Vision Zero, a strategy to eliminate traffic deaths and injuries.
The “ghost shoes” were joined by a “ghost” stroller, bike, and walker to show the scale of traffic tragedies. In a ceremony, the names of every victim were read by city leaders. The ceremony coincided with World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, a global event to raise awareness of those lost and call for action to reduce traffic fatalities.
Walk San Francisco and San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets have posted memorial signs at the locations of all 317 fatal traffic crashes in the past decade.
While the city has made progress in redesigning streets to improve safety, about 30 people die in traffic crashes each year, and more than 500 are severely injured, according to safety advocates. Most are pedestrians.
As of Nov. 7, 32 people have died in traffic crashes this year and 21 were pedestrians, according to Walk SF.
The organization is calling on city leaders to recommit to Vision Zero “with bold, meaningful actions for safe streets now.”
Walk San Francisco urges the city to reduce speeds, the leading cause of severe and fatal traffic crashes; support the new state law that requires removing parking within 20 feet of crosswalks, so drivers have better visibility; and finish basic pedestrian safety improvements to the 12% of streets where 68% of crashes occur.