A 77-year-old woman was struck and killed by a vehicle at the intersection of 39th Avenue and Geary Boulevard earlier this month, marking San Francisco's third pedestrian fatality in 2025. This incident continues a tragic pattern at this location, where a 68-year-old man was similarly killed while crossing the street in December 2020. Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco, expressed profound concern about the intersection's design. The intersection features four travel lanes on both roads without traffic lights, stop signs, or adequate pedestrian safety measures despite having crosswalks.
According to Walk San Francisco's analysis, the intersection's design creates inherent dangers for pedestrians. Pedestrians must cross a long distance, and drivers often speed in this quieter section of Geary Boulevard despite a new 25 MPH speed limit. The absence of right-of-way guidance significantly increases collision risks at this location. San Francisco's pedestrian safety crisis extends beyond this single intersection. Last year, 24 pedestrians were struck and killed by drivers throughout the city, highlighting systemic infrastructure challenges. The recent fatality has prompted renewed calls for immediate safety improvements, including traffic control devices and pedestrian crossing signals.
Legal experts from https://www.chouloslaw.com have characterized the city's failure to install basic traffic guidance as potentially negligent. The City has a duty to ensure that those afoot have access to safe crossings of busy, wide streets, the firm noted, emphasizing municipal responsibility for pedestrian protection. The incident has intensified pressure on city officials to address known dangerous intersections proactively rather than reactively. Community safety advocates argue that preventable deaths will continue without comprehensive infrastructure upgrades and consistent enforcement of traffic regulations across San Francisco's roadway network. This fatality underscores how inadequate street design directly contributes to loss of life, forcing a critical examination of how urban planning priorities must shift to protect vulnerable road users.
