San Antonio residents walked down Commerce Street in silence on November 20 to honor family and friends killed in traffic crashes as part of the World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Victims. Vision Zero San Antonio led the walk, which begin at the Alamo and moved down Commerce Street to Main Plaza.
At the plaza, the group held a memorial service with an interfaith blessing from multiple religious leaders, including Pastor Jimmy Robles from Last Chance Ministries. Pastor Robles’ daughter died in a vehicle crash this past September.
Following the blessing, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus and District Five City Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales addressed the need for the San Antonio community to unite in preventing future roadway fatalities. Then, participants remembered victims of traffic crashes by writing their names on magnets and posting them on a mobile memorial created by local artist Kenneth Lantz for this event.
“This day is for us to remember the people that have lost their lives in roadway crashes, as well as bring awareness to the importance of roadway safety,” said Vision Zero Project Manager Rebecca Pacini. “Through this walk and memorial, we were able to show that the lives we have lost are more than just numbers.”
So far in 2016, 166 people have been killed on San Antonio roads. That number has already exceeded last year’s total of 154 fatalities. Vision Zero is dedicated to the mission of bringing that number down to zero through education, encouragement, enforcement, engineering and evaluation. To find out more about their mission, click here: www.sanantonio.gov/tci/VisionZero