Councilman Chris Ward, members of Circulate San Diego and other transportation advocates gathered Wednesday at the San Diego City Hall Concourse to reaffirm their commitment to pedestrian safety.
A list of "Fatal 15" intersections identifies where pedestrian injuries and fatalities most often occur in San Diego. Intersections on University Avenue, El Cajon Boulevard, Fourth Avenue and other roads, many of them downtown, are on the list.
“We’ve committed to completing them in fiscal year 2019," Kris McFadden said. McFadden is director of the city's transportation and stormwater department. "That starts in just a few months. At a lot of the locations, we’ve actually already done the high visibility crosswalks, those are the high continental crosswalks.”
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Circulate San Diego said a commitment to improving the "Fatal 15" is a big step.
"The city has to make a shift in how it prioritizes its transportation funding," Maya Rosas said. Rosas is director of policy at Circulate San Diego. "And that doesn’t happen overnight."
"Fixing the Fatal 15 is a major step towards ending senseless traffic fatalities in San Diego," Ward said. "We need to ensure the safety of our residents by creating safe, walkable communities."
In 2015, Mayor Kevin Faulconer committed to Vision Zero — a national movement to reduce pedestrian roadway fatalities — with a goal of ending all San Diego traffic deaths by 2025.
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Plans to improve pedestrian safety could be included in the city's proposed fiscal year budget to be released Friday.
Circulate San Diego recommends a handful of intersection improvements, including painted stripes along crosswalks, as well as additional countdown signals and audible signal prompts.
