If you see a yellow silhouette attached to a pole or sign around town, it’s there because a person was killed in a traffic collision near that spot in the nearly nine years since Seattle first approved it’s Vision Zero goal in 2015. The sheer number of these yellow memorials, numbering over 200, provides a grim status report on the city’s progress toward its goal of zero traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
The signs have been installed thanks to a significant volunteer-powered effort led by Seattle Neighborhood Greenways and are part of the annual World Day of Remembrance memorializing victims of traffic violence and calling for change.
In addition to the signs, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways has two community walks planned in two of the city’s worst hot spots for traffic deaths: SoDo and Aurora. Details:
11 a.m. Friday, November 17
SODO – SODO Link Station Station11 a.m. Saturday, November 18
Aurora Avenue – Aurora Ave and N 84th Street
This year, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways is specifically targeting the most dangerous kinds of streets in the city. “80% of pedestrian fatalities occur on streets with more than one travel lane in each direction — our wide, busy streets where people feel comfortable driving fast,” said Gordon Padelford, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways Executive Director, in a press release. “Meanwhile, 80% of people biking are killed on streets without bike lanes.”
A disproportionate percentage of recent increases in traffic deaths have been people walking, so that should be an obvious top priority for traffic safety efforts. But World Day of Remembrance is about everyone killed in traffic, including people in cars.
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