Photo: San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
March 19, 2019
Bike East Bay mourns the death of Berkeley resident Tess Rothstein, who was killed two weeks ago while biking on Howard Street in San Francisco. Tess was biking to work when she was fatally struck by a driver. The collision happened on a known high-injury corridor, on a stretch of Howard where protected bike lane improvements had been delayed. We mourn the avoidable and tragic loss of Tess’s life.
So many in the biking community make the trip across the Bay for work or for fun, connecting the train ride by bike on either end. With more people walking and biking than ever before on all sides of the Bay, we must prioritize our streets as a place where people can safely, joyfully travel. That is why we push for protected bike lanes and quick fixes to our streets – especially on known high-injury corridors where improvements cannot wait.
Increasing numbers of people across the Bay Area—and in particular, people walking and biking—are being severely injured or killed in traffic collisions. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Vital Signs report released in the December 2017 found that traffic fatalities have increased 45% between 2010 and 2016. The report pointed to a booming economy and increasing vehicle miles traveled—meaning people are driving more and for greater distances—as a possible cause.
Join the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s call for protected bike lanes on Howard and Folsom, and fast-tracked progress on high-injury corridors citywide. Contact San Francisco officials and join the march on Tuesday March 19, 12:30pm at San Francisco City Hall.