SAN DIEGO — “I remember him saying, ‘Ok, bye, I’ll see you later,’ and I looked up and said, ‘Ok, bye,’ and that was the last time I ever saw him alive,” said Laura Keenan, whose husband Matthew was hit by a car and killed in 2021 while riding his bike in Mission Valley.
Matthew Keenan was one of 18 cyclists and pedestrians that were killed on city streets and sidewalks in 2021, one of 59 total deaths from January 2021 through March of this year.
The number of pedestrian and cyclist deaths has increased in the past three years despite the City of San Diego's pledge to wipe out traffic deaths citywide by 2025 as part of its Vision Zero plan, which was implemented back in 2015.
Vision Zero is part of a larger concept that traffic fatalities, whether you’re in a car or on a bike or on foot, are preventable by addressing flaws in road design and making intersections safer.
Public records obtained by CBS 8 show that 427 people have died in traffic-related collisions since 2015, the year that San Diego implemented Vision Zero.
In 2022, the number of traffic deaths on city streets and sidewalks was 69, the highest in nine years, surpassing the previous eight-year high of 67 set in 2021.
So far 2023 is no different.
From January through April 24, there have been 23 traffic-related deaths, nine of which were pedestrians.
The spike in traffic deaths now brings into question if Vision Zero is working and whether its goal of ending traffic deaths in such a car-centric city as San Diego is realistic.
For those who’ve lost loved ones in this way, one death is far too many.
“He was one of the most passionate, full-of-life people I’ve ever met,” said Laura Keenan, reminiscing about her late husband, Matthew, an avid cyclist who was killed at the age of 42.
Keenan remembers the day she received the call that changed her life forever.
It was the Medical Examiner’s Office with news of her husband's death.
“I had to get my 15-month son out of bed and somehow find a way to tell him that his dad is never coming back,” said Keenan. “I didn’t know a pain like this existed until he was killed, like, pain is not the right word.”
Keenan says day-to-day life has been extremely hard being a single parent raising their son, Evan, who is almost 3 years old now. But she has turned her pain into advocacy.
“Those moments were the worst moments of my life, and I never want anybody to have to experience that pain,” explained Keenan.
She formed a local chapter of the nonprofit Families for Safe Streets San Diego and has been advocating for Vision Zero improvements ever since.
“No loss of life is acceptable, every loss of life is a tragedy,” said Colin Parent, CEO and general counsel for Circulate San Diego as well as a La Mesa councilmember.
“We’re starting to see some progress, but it’s also true that we’re not anywhere close to where we need to be,” said Parent.
Jared Wilson, president of the San Diego Police Officer's Association, says more funding for police officers could possibly prevent some pedestrian collisions. -
“With 69 people dying last year, we have to do more,” said Wilson.
He says that traffic enforcement has been cut in half over the past five years due to low staffing and high turnover of police officers.
“We know when we see an officer out on the street conducting traffic enforcement, people slow down, people make those full and complete stops at stop signs, and unfortunately, in the last several years, our enforcement rate has incredibly decreased,” said Wilson. “We’re writing fewer tickets, we’re making fewer stops. In fact, we’re making about half as many stops as we did about four or five years ago.”
Wilson says in order for Vision Zero to truly succeed, traffic enforcement needs to be a key component.
“I know no one likes getting a traffic ticket and no one likes being pulled over and warned not to do it, but it saves lives,” said Wilson.
San Diego's Most Dangerous Intersections
Circulate San Diego published a list of San Diego’s most dangerous intersections in 2018.
University and 52nd Street in City Heights was second on the list, prompting the City to install safety upgrades for pedestrians.
“What we have here is these continental crosswalks, they have these big, bold, white lines, it provides the most safety and protection for pedestrians who are crossing a busy street,” said Parent, while crossing University Avenue on foot. “As we’re walking across, you can see that there is a countdown timer and that is giving us an indication about how much time we have left to cross.”
Other safety measures around San Diego include flashing beacons at crosswalks and ‘no right-turn blank out signs,’ alerting drivers when people are crossing the street.
In addition, the city has turned to roundabouts as an effective way of slowing traffic at intersections.
“That keeps speeds low and whenever there is a crash, they’re typically at low speed, they’re typically at softer angles rather than T-bone crashes,” said Everett Hauser, Program Manager for the City’s Transportation Department.
Hauser told CBS 8 that installation crews took an unconventional approach with a new traffic circle at Florida Drive and Morley Field Drive, using prefabricated materials.
Installation only took about two weeks when normally, a conventional roundabout would take many years to design and install.
“I recognize that people’s lives are on the line, so we work to make those corrections every day, so it doesn’t happen again,” said Hauser.
Parent and Keenan say time is of the essence.
“Let’s not take ten years to design some improvement for our streets. Let’s do something quick, easy, affordable, and let’s do it today,” said Parent.
Since 2015, the City has invested $203 million dollars in Vision Zero projects with nearly $29 million in Fiscal Year 2023 alone.
“We have to be reminded that the job is not done, that people are still getting hurt on our streets, that our streets are not as safe as people want them to be,” said Parent.
While the proposed budget for FY2024 funds a number of Vision Zero-related projects, Circulate San Diego says it’s not enough. They’ve sent several letters to the Mayor’s Office asking for specific improvements to dangerous intersections and Class IV bikeways, among other upgrades, that so far have not been addressed.
“It feels personal, I know it’s not personal, but Matt deserves better. His life is as important as everybody else who has been killed in traffic collisions,” said Keenan.