“It is all of our responsibility to drive, bike, and walk as if it is our own child, grandchild, or grandparent who will be crossing the road at the next intersection. Simply put, we must slow down and we must be vigilant.”
— Rob Sadowsky, executive director of the Street Trust
The Street Trust (formerly the Bicycle Transportation Alliance) has made a public statement about the death of young Fallon Smart and the serious collision yesterday that left 15-year-old Bradley Fortner with a brain injury.
“We need action now,” says Street Trust Executive Director Rob Sadowsky. “I am deeply saddened each time I hear about another road death. It is all of our responsibility to drive, bike, and walk as if it is our own child, grandchild, or grandparent who will be crossing the road at the next intersection. Simply put, we must slow down and we must be vigilant.”
The statement comes with an announcement of a rally that will be held tomorrow (Thursday, September 1st) at the north end of the North Park Blocks. The rally is being coordinated with — and will include representatives from — Oregon Walks, Oregon and SW Washington Families for Safe Streets, the Portland Bureau of Transportation, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
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Here’s more about the rally from the Street Trust:
“… Outraged residents will rally together to express sorrow about recent road fatalities and to showcase what can be done collaboratively today by road users to save lives now. A group of speakers will speak for a short 30 minutes and be available to answer questions.”
And here’s more from their statement about the recent collisions:
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance is incredibly saddened to learn about the most recent tragedy after Bradley Fortner, a freshman at Roosevelt High School, was hit early Tuesday morning on his way to his first day of school. The teen was hit on North Columbia Boulevard at a location with a 40mph speed limit.
But this is not an isolated incident. Less than two weeks has passed since 15 year old Fallon Smart was hit and killed trying to cross Hawthorne Blvd. Fallon was the 30th person killed on Portland streets this year. Our unsafe streets have reached crisis level.
Tuesday’s crash was entirely preventable. In fact, we believe that crashes are preventable. We have called upon the state, our cities, and our counties to embrace this same belief and embrace Vision Zero now as a new way of approaching transportation. It is time to move from injuring, maiming, and killing people on the road to a place where traffic fatalities are no longer an assumed consequence.
The Portland region needs to be safe for kids, families, pets, people walking, people using wheelchairs, people bicycling, and people driving. And safe means you don’t take your life in your hands when you cross the street. It is time for Vision Zero today! Real change now starts with people on the road and in the driver’s seat, slowing down, being alert, and traveling with care.
Earlier today Noel Mickelberry, executive director of Oregon Walks also published a statement, saying, “Each crash reminds us that a true change to the status quo on our streets is required to provide solutions… We need innovation, we need political leadership, we need money on the ground to make needed street safety fixes, and we need meaningful community input and support. We are talking about hate crimes, about devastated families, about historic underinvestment, about kids not knowing if they will get to school safely. This is not easy work, and we don’t have all of the answers.”
Tomorrow’s rally will start at 10:30 am at NW Glisan between 8th and Park. More information on their website.
— Jonathan Maus, (503) 706-8804 – jonathan@bikeportland.org
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