Another tragic pedestrian death in San Francisco raises the question: Is Vision Zero a failure?

The accident marks the 20th accident in the city. pedestrian death this year and third this month, coming to the end of a decade-long initiative to eliminate traffic deaths by 2024. It’s a grim reminder that San Francisco is the furthest it’s ever been from its Vision Zero Goal.

“Twenty is too many,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of the advocacy group Walk SF. “We always say we can’t imagine what San Francisco would be like if we didn’t adopt Vision Zero. But things just haven’t gone far enough.”

Pedestrians now account for 70% of traffic deaths in the city this year, five percentage points more than average. According to city data, 2024 is on track to be the deadliest year for pedestrians since 2014. And since the pandemic, small streets, like the intersection of Stanyan and Parnassus, are becoming more dangerous.

“We’ve seen a big change in where accidents occur,” said Marta Lindsay, spokesperson for Walk SF. “And for me, it’s really scary because now all the streets are becoming high risk. It is because of this deadly combination of aggressive driving, speeding, larger and heavier vehicles and more traffic. “It has turned small streets into streets where someone could die tomorrow.”

Those problems are especially concerning in the area of ​​this week’s deadly crash, where neighbors said large trucks often travel down hilly residential streets on their way to and from a construction site at UC San Francisco.

A construction worker who asked not to be identified confirmed that the dump truck involved in the accident was hired to remove dirt from the site of the ongoing hospital project at Parnassus and Hill Point Avenue. The truck was identified by KTVU footage operated by Modesto-based Lally Trucking Inc.. While the phone line at Lally appeared to be disconnected, safety reports posted on the company’s website show zero involvement in previous reportable accidents.

The driver of the truck remained at the scene and did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol, police said in a statement. The medical examiner’s office identified the victim as Jose Chow, 70, of San Francisco.

On Wednesday morning, Lydia Byers and her husband, Neil, stopped at a memorial on the corner of the street where Chow was killed. Walk SF and community members held a vigil the night of the crash, leaving yellow paper hearts, marigolds and a handwritten sign that read, “A driver killed our neighbor here, October 22, 2024.”

Across the street at the Sunny Country Market, bright bouquets of sunflowers bloomed in barrels, and more flowers were displayed in rows in front of the store’s tall windows. Piles of woven baskets hung for sale under the market’s burgundy awning. As trucks and other large construction vehicles passed by, the couple looked up and down the crosswalk and tried to understand how the accident could have happened.

“This is our neighborhood,” said Byers, who said he has lived in the area much of his life. “This is my intersection that I frequent. “It’s really scary that your life can be gone in an instant because someone takes a turn and doesn’t pay attention.”

“Just eliminate the right turns,” her husband added. “What’s a couple of seconds?”

Erica Kato, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, said in an email that the intersection had “painted daylight” in the direction the truck was traveling. Daylighting uses markers or red paint to prevent cars from parking near crosswalks and ensure that drivers’ views of pedestrians are not obstructed.

However, on Wednesday, a red SUV was parked at the top of the steep hill approaching Parnassus, next to the red sidewalk.

Although the intersection has not had a pedestrian collision in the past 10 years, Medeiros said neighbors described many close calls, as well as a lack of pedestrian signals at the crosswalk. Both the driver and the victim had a green light.

“We need something,” Qari said. “In the morning, this is a very busy area. We have two schools (nearby, Haight Ashbury Cooperative and Grattan Elementary) and many children. The traffic goes very fast and you see many trucks on the corner. We have to do something and put an extra light to stop the traffic.”

Kato said the MTA is conducting a “rapid response review” of the fatal crash to evaluate the existing site and make recommendations for improvements. The location is on a list for future pedestrian signal improvements.