DOZENS OF TRAFFIC SAFETY ACTIVISTS filled the steps outside San Francisco City Hall this week to demand that city leaders address street safety issues with more urgency.
Bicyclists, dog walkers, older residents, and members of the pedestrian advocacy group Walk San Francisco joined several current and former supervisors in a rally, sounding the alarm on the economic toll that traffic collisions have on the city.
“Every preventable crash on our streets is a blow to our economy, and every death is an unacceptable tragedy,” Supervisor Myrna Melgar said in a speech.
A recent report from the city’s Budget and Legislative Analyst’s Office revealed that in the last five years, traffic collisions have cost San Francisco residents a total of $2.5 billion. That includes costs from vehicle repairs, medical care, taking time off work, and property damage.
Norman Yee is a former supervisor who helped spearhead Vision Zero, a citywide initiative to achieve zero traffic-related deaths by 2024.
At Tuesday’s rally, he explained his personal experience dealing with the aftermath of being struck by a car in 2006, leaving him with serious injuries. He said he had to take off six months of work and his wife was also forced to stop working her job in order to take care of him.
“I’m also a victim of a violent crash, many, many years ago,” Yee said. “I understand the impact economically.”
In addition to personal expenses, traffic collisions in San Francisco from 2020 to 2024 cost local and state governments about $80 million. Most of the costs to the city came from claims and settling lawsuits related to traffic collisions, totaling $61.4 million, according to the report.
Walk SF and several members of the Board of Supervisors believe that beyond the loss of life, the economic impact of traffic collisions on residents and city government should also put pressure on city leaders to prioritize resolving the issue as a public safety crisis.
“If the tragic human cost about safe streets wasn’t enough, we also know that the costs to our economy are incredibly high,” Melgar said.
In the past five years, 193 people died in San Francisco from car crashes, averaging about 39 fatalities each year. The deadliest year in nearly two decades was 2024 when 41 people died.
“If the tragic human cost about safe streets wasn’t enough, we also know that the costs to our economy are incredibly high.”
Supervisor Myrna Melgar
Just last week, there was a fatal hit-and-run that killed an 86-year-old woman who was crossing the intersection at Fillmore and McAllister streets.
These fatalities play a part in the belief that Vision Zero has been unsuccessful.
After the Vision Zero policy expired last year, some supervisors and Walk SF are pushing for the city to fully fund traffic safety initiatives and adopt an updated policy that takes into account changes to the city’s traffic landscape.
“A lot of things have happened in the last 10 years,” Melgar said in an interview. “We have parklets and shared spaces. We have Waymos, Uber and Lyft. I think it’s time to look at that legislation and update it.”
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency plays a large role in the city’s goal to achieve zero traffic deaths.
Installing speed bumps, speed cameras, quick-build projects and enforcing the “daylighting” law are some of the efforts that have been implemented by SFMTA as part of Vision Zero. Quick-build projects include rapidly adding traffic infrastructure like paint, street signs and transit boarding islands in areas considered high risks for pedestrian injury.
The state’s daylighting law, which San Francisco began enforcing this year, makes it illegal to park within 20 feet of a crosswalk in order to enhance visibility for cars and pedestrians. SFMTA is aiming to finish painting curbs red at crosswalks near schools by the end of this year and citywide by the end of 2026.
However, SFMTA is projected to face a $320 million budget deficit next year, which could stretch resources thin that go toward traffic safety improvements.
Despite constraints to its budget, SFMTA officials agree that traffic safety must remain at the forefront.
“There’s no doubt our budget situation is challenging — but keeping people safe remains a top priority,” said SFMTA spokesperson Michael Roccaforte in a statement. “We actively pursue grants and voter-approved funds earmarked for street safety projects to bring more investment into the city.”
During the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday after the rally, Melgar called for a future hearing on the report from the Budget and Legislative Analyst’s Office.
So far, Supervisors Bilal Mahmood, Danny Sauter and Chyanne Chen are also in support of establishing a more robust Vision Zero policy.
“We cannot be desensitized to these deaths,” Mahmood said in a speech at the rally. “To get where we want to get the street safety, we have to change the way that we see our streets. We have to through better engineering and better enforcement to get to a place where we truly prioritize making our streets safe and comfortable for all.”
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