Scott Moore moved to San Diego in 2001 with his then-boyfriend, Josh Gilliland, to escape the homophobia they grew up with in Kansas and Oklahoma. The pair settled in Hillcrest, not just because of its gay-friendly atmosphere, but also because they could get around by walking.
"Josh was able to work in the neighborhood, all of our friends were here, and there really wasn't a need for a car," said Moore, who remained best friends with Gilliland after their breakup. "Josh was a proud pedestrian. That was part of his identity."
On June 10 of last year, Gilliland was walking from his home in Hillcrest to his job at Cheers, a dive bar in University Heights. As he crossed El Cajon Boulevard at Park Boulevard, a driver ran a red light and struck Gilliland, then fled. Gilliland died in the hospital four days later.
"I don't think I'll ever be completely whole again," Moore said. "I continue to want to call him and tell him something. There are so many things that I could only tell Josh, or that only we would understand."
Nine years ago, the San Diego City Council adopted a resolution in support of Vision Zero, a global movement to end all traffic deaths. The council gave itself a deadline for 2025, hoping to build a sense of urgency around redesigning streets to put safety above speed.
City traffic engineers have responded by painting more high-visibility crosswalks, adding pedestrian countdown timers and installing new bike lanes. But the substantial changes required to slow traffic on more dangerous, high speed corridors remain a distant goal.
The result: The number of people killed each year in traffic collisions on San Diego streets is essentially unchanged since 2015.
Bethany Bezak, director of the San Diego Transportation Department, said pedestrian fatalities have remained stubbornly high throughout the country. Even if the city fails to achieve its Vision Zero goal on deadline, she said, her department is still committed to building safer streets.
"The Transportation Department continues to track and monitor with the Police Department and make sure that we understand the highest crash intersections and where some of those safety improvements are needed," Bezak said. "And then we're really focused on utilizing our in-house teams to be able to implement those quick and easy … types of installations that might be just a simple crosswalk striping."
Those quick and easy interventions can be very effective on quieter streets with lower speeds and traffic volumes, said Laura Keenan, founder of Families for Safe Streets San Diego. But on streets where traffic flows fast enough to kill, paint and plastic delineators are not enough.
"They get us, I think, 80% of the way there," said Keenan, who became an activist after her husband, Matt Keenan, was killed while biking in 2021. "But sometimes that extra 20% is life and death. And so we really want the city to focus on adding physical barriers when the travel speeds call for it."
Keenan added that there are other fast solutions San Diego still isn't making use of, such as a state law that allows cities to lower speed limits more easily, and another that aims to prevent parked cars from blocking sightlines at intersections.
The intersection where Josh Gilliland was struck last year has long been known to be dangerous. Three major arterial roads — El Cajon Boulevard, Park Boulevard and Normal Street — all converge in a confusing and high-speed intersection. A recent collision there saw a driver plow through the chain link fence that surrounds a new dog park.
Moore said he's noticed new bike lanes in the area and is grateful for them. But when he hears Mayor Todd Gloria boast about the number of miles the city is repaving each year, Moore is not impressed.
"It's painful to see them make changes that seem more cosmetic," Moore said. "I wish that our money would go in the direction of all of the city's constituents, and not just those who drive."
