Another tragic SF pedestrian death begs the question: is Vision Zero a failure?

The crash marks the city’s 20th fatal pedestrians this year and third this month, bringing us to the end of a decade-long initiative to eliminate road traffic fatalities by 2024. It’s a stark reminder that San Francisco is as far removed as ever from its homeland. Vision Zero purpose.

“Twenty is too many,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of advocacy group Walk SF. “We always say we can’t imagine what San Francisco would look like if we didn’t adopt Vision Zero. But it doesn’t go far enough.”

Pedestrians are responsible for 70% of traffic fatalities in the city this year – an increase of 5 percentage points over the average. According to city data, 2024 is on track to be the deadliest year for pedestrians since 2014. And since the pandemic, small streets — like the intersection of Stanyan and Parnassus — are becoming more dangerous.

“We’ve seen such a shift in where crashes are happening,” said Marta Lindsay, spokesperson for Walk SF. “And for me it’s really scary, because now every street becomes high risk. It’s this deadly combination of aggressive driving, speeding, bigger, heavier vehicles and more traffic. It has turned small streets into streets where someone could die tomorrow.”

These issues are especially concerning in the area of ​​this week’s fatal accident, where neighbors said large trucks often drive through hilly residential streets on their way to and from a construction site at UC San Francisco.

A construction worker who asked not to be named confirmed that the dump truck involved in the crash was assigned to remove dirt from the ongoing hospital project site at Parnassus and Hill Point Avenue. The truck was identified by KTVU footage as managed by Modesto-based Lally Trucking Inc. Although the phone line appeared to be down at Lally, safety reports published on the company’s website indicate no involvement in previous reportable accidents.

The driver of the truck remained at the scene and did not appear to be under the influence, police said in a statement. The medical examiner’s office identified the victim as Jose Chow, 70, of San Francisco.

Wednesday morning, Lydia Byers and her husband Neil stopped at a memorial on the street corner where Chow was killed. Walk SF and community members held a vigil the night of the crash, leaving yellow paper hearts, marigolds and a handwritten sign that read: “A driver killed our neighbor here, October 22, 2024.”

Across the street at the Sunny Country Market, bright sunflower bouquets bloomed from barrels, and even more flowers lined up in rows outside the store’s tall windows. Bunches of woven baskets hung for sale under the market’s burgundy awning. As trucks and other large construction vehicles passed by, the couple looked both ways at the crosswalk and tried to understand how the accident could have happened.

“This is our neighborhood,” said Byers, who says she has lived in the neighborhood much of her life. “This is the intersection I regularly visit. It’s really scary that your life can be over in a flash because someone makes a U-turn and isn’t paying attention.”

“Just don’t make right turns,” her husband added. “What are a few seconds?”

Erica Kato, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, said in an email that the intersection “painted daylight” in the direction the truck was traveling. During daylight, markings or red paint are used to prevent cars from parking near zebra crossings so that drivers’ view of pedestrians is not obstructed.

However, on Wednesday, a red SUV was parked at the top of the steep hill approaching Parnassus, next to the red curb.

Although there has not been a pedestrian collision at the intersection in the past decade, medeiros said neighbors described many close calls, as well as a lack of pedestrian signals at the crosswalk. Both the driver and the victim had the green light.

“We need something,” Qari said. “In the morning this is a very busy area. We have two schools (nearby – Haight Ashbury Cooperative and Grattan Elementary –) and lots of kids. The traffic moves very fast and you see a lot of trucks on the corner. We have to do something and put an extra light to slow down traffic.”

Kato said the MTA is conducting a “rapid response review” of the fatal crash to evaluate the existing site and make recommendations for improvements. The location is on a list for future pedestrian signal upgrades.