Late this afternoon, the steps of Civic Center Plaza will be covered with shoes — 294 pairs of them. Each pair will represent a person who was killed in a traffic collision in San Diego last year.
It's a commemoration of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, and will include a vigil at 4:30 p.m., where the families of those victims will gather to honor and remember their loved ones.
But the event is also a call to action. Organizers want leaders to make improvements and come up with solutions that will make the roadways safer. Families for Safe Streets and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition say they want the City of San Diego to commit to three actions. The first is to double the funding for the city's quick-build bikeways program. The second, to lower speed limits and build physical traffic calming measures on eight traffic corridors listed as "most dangerous" by the Vision Zero project. And the third is to approve an updated Bicycle Master Plan following a national transportation organization's guidelines for building bike facilities for people of all ages and abilities.
The shoes on display tonight will be donated to charity. Following the vigil there will be a reception at Hidden Craft, with 20% of all proceeds going to Safe Streets San Diego.
