Why Are So Many People Dying on Sunnyvale Streets?
Losing a family member is never easy, especially unexpectedly as a result of traffic violence. The loss of life affects not only those closest to the one who has passed but the surrounding community as well. While the family focuses on things that matter, it’s comforting to believe that the city will handle the rest. A city’s response can either provide relief and comfort or disbelief and concern.
Four people died in the same month (two of which were around the same intersection) on Sunnyvale’s streets:
On Sept 8th, at the intersection of Wolfe/Inverness, Cole Lockwood was walking when he was struck by a person driving a vehicle. Cole sustained major injuries as a result of the collision and passed later at the hospital.
On Sept 9th, in a collision on Sunnyvale Ave near Hendy, Jesus “Jessie” Ramos was seriously injured and taken to a local hospital. Sadly, on Sept 17th Jessie succumbed to his injuries.
On September 26th, south of the Wolfe/Inverness intersection, Yong Hu was riding his bike when he was struck by a person driving a car and sustained major injuries. Yong was transported by ambulance to the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center where he was later pronounced deceased.
On October 10th, at the intersection of Mathilda and Washington, Franciso Flores Garcia was walking when he was struck by two people driving two vehicles. Franciso sustained major injuries as a result of the collision and was declared dead at the scene.
Our hearts go out to the friends and families of Cole Lockwood, Jesus “Jessie” Ramos, Yong Hu, and Franciso Flores Garcia, giving them hope and courage to sail through these difficult times.
As for the City of Sunnyvale, it appears to be “business as usual.” We have not seen them respond with the appropriate level of urgency these fatalities warrant to make sure this does not happen again.
Here’s what other neighboring cities have done when they were in a similar situation:
City of San Mateo: In the same week of the bike fatality in Sunnyvale, the city of San Mateo witnessed a near miss and they took immediate action which included closing down one of the lanes of traffic in the direction of the collision with cones (further replaced by posts) and electronic signs. SMPD is also conducting pedestrian stings.
Mountain View: When 13-year-old Andre Retana was killed in a crash in the City of Mountain View, the City dropped everything else and sprung into action to address this devastating incident. Mountain View’s staff reached out to peer cities that had been through the same thing in order to learn and respond appropriately. While the police were still carrying out their investigation, city staff went down to see the location. They met with the little boy’s father, his friends from school and spent time listening to the community members at public meetings giving everyone an opportunity to express grief, anger, and frustration. Outside of this, the City also promptly started thinking about infrastructure improvements. Caltrans (who owned the right of way) was coincidentally working on making improvements to the corridor. Their plans at that time did not have any bike/ped improvements for that particular intersection. The City pushed Caltrans to make sure their updated plans reflect the appropriate changes.
At the same time, the City Council took action. Mountain View Mayor, Ellen Kamei, reached out to SVBC to ask for our thoughts about how best to address the tragedy. Other council members contacted us as well, devastated and seeking ways to ensure that kids do not die while trying to get an education. It was all hands on deck for the City, a clear indication of Mountain View’s commitment to safe streets.
Cupertino: In Cupertino, when 15-year-old Ethan Wong was killed by the driver of a big rig while riding to school, the City sprung into action. A community meeting drew 400 people with 200 suggestions for making the streets more safe. Actions in the City of Cupertino included funding a Safe Routes to School Coordinator and making policy changes that prevent trucks from driving during school start and end times, eliminating any potential conflicts between students and large vehicles.
At the further urging of community members under the leadership of Walk Bike Cupertino, the City embarked on creating its first long-range Bike Plan and further started to significantly fund bike plan projects over successive years. (Cumulative local, state, and federal funding approaches $50M in projects)
When the two fatalities happened in the City of Sunnyvale, SVBC reached out to the City staff and Council. They mentioned that they are waiting for the investigation to be complete before taking any action and that a bike/ped collision report would be presented at the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) meeting in Spring. These investigations can take several weeks or even months! And while they’re waiting, two crashes have already happened, resulting in one hospitalization and one death. The city’s response and actions have been very underwhelming and cavalier towards these incidents. If the City really cares about their most vulnerable users - they need to prioritize safe streets and prioritize them NOW to ensure no more lives are lost.
What can you do?
Join us on October 30th… We need your help in sending a message to the City of Sunnyvale that the lives that have been lost matter and that the City's lack of action to address these unsafe streets is endangering the community.
We need your help! In order to make this event a success, we need you all to come out in high numbers, we need to show up in a way that the City of Sunnyvale can not ignore. We will walk and ride to bring attention to the city’s lack of action and to demand that the idle sitting decision-making body prioritize the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians TODAY.
What you can do to help:
Help spread the word extensively to your networks in Sunnyvale, South Bay, and Beyond - ALL are welcome
Volunteer to provide walk/ride support
Feel free to prepare some words, bring flowers, candles, or a sign to the ride.
When: Sunday, October 30th at 10:00 am
Where: 200 W Evelyn, Plaza Del Sol- Sunnyvale Ca
Why: To bring attention to the City's lack of action and to honor those that have been lost.
Definitely bring along friends, family, and co-workers. The more people we have, the stronger voice we can present!
