MEDIA ADVISORY
PRESS CONFERENCE: “Get Kids To School Safely” Rally and Press Conference
Contact: Will Moore, Policy Counsel, Circulate San Diego, 858-210-7999, [email protected]
When: Friday, May 30, 2025 at 1:00 p.m.
Where: Corner of University Ave and Cherokee Ave, San Diego, CA 92104
Who:
- Sean Elo-Rivera, San Diego City Councilmember
- Stephen Whitburn, San Diego City Councilmember
- Shana Hazan, San Diego Unified School District Board Member
- Amy Cohen, Founder and President of Families for Safe Streets National
- Mary Elliott, Member of Families for Safe Streets San Diego
- Laura Keenan, Co-Founder & Chair Families for Safe Streets San Diego
What: On Friday, May 30 at 1:00 p.m, at the intersection of University Avenue and Cherokee Avenue in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego, Circulate San Diego, Families for Safe Streets San Diego, The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, and BikeSD will lead a rally against traffic violence - calling on the City of San Diego to make improvements to “Get Kids To School Safely.”
University and Cherokee is one of the Fatal 15 intersections – the deadliest intersections in San Diego. It’s also along one of San Diego’s 6 Critical Corridors identified by SANDAG as among the most dangerous for pedestrians. The intersection is within a quarter-mile of multiple schools, including Edison Elementary and Cherokee Point Elementary, placing children and families at daily risk.
Since 2012, this corridor has seen 62 pedestrian and cyclist injuries and 2 deaths within a block of each other, including a pedestrian fatality at this very intersection in August 2020.
At this event, we will highlight the urgent need to make school routes safer and will be encouraging the City to support the Vision Zero Coalition’s budget priorities, which include:
- Improving safety along the 6 Critical Corridors to school,
- Fixing the Fatal 15 intersections, and
- Reducing speeds in school zones through the implementation of AB 43.
- Improving safety along the 6 Critical Corridors to school,
- Fixing the Fatal 15 intersections, and
- Reducing speeds in school zones through the implementation of AB 43.
Nearly 50 pedestrians and cyclists lose their lives in traffic crashes in San Diego every year. San Diego committed to Vision Zero in 2015, but pedestrian deaths remain stubbornly high.
Advocates have called upon the City of San Diego to Fix the Fatal 15 and improve the 6 Critical Corridors, but there are not funds allocated in the most recent versions of the budget to make all of the necessary improvements.
Visuals: Family members of pedestrians and cyclists killed in traffic violence, Pictures of victims, a dangerous Fatal 15 intersection and Critical Corridor, San Diego City Councilmembers, Amy Cohen – Founder of national street safety organization Families for Safe Streets, Laura Keenan – Founder of Families for Safe Streets San Diego.
A downloadable copy of this Media Advisory can be found here.
