Vision Zero Vancouver

Vision Zero supports safety improvements on 16th Avenue

On October 14 2025, a driver turning left from Willow St hit a woman crossing 16th Avenue with a baby in a stroller. A security camera captured the incident; the video is extremely disturbing and we don’t recommend watching it. The baby was fortunately unhurt; the woman is in hospital with life-altering injuries.

This didn’t need to happen. 16th Avenue has a history of bad crashes. Last year, Mount Pleasant residents got fed up and went to the city to demand action: speed bumps, more lights, anything to slow drivers down. The city said no:

In a statement to CityNews, the City of Vancouver explains it won’t be installing traffic calming measures to physically enforce lower speeds as 16th Avenue is a major thoroughfare. “Arterial and collector streets – such as the case of 16th Avenue – are important for carrying higher traffic volumes … arterials have a critical function of supporting transit services, goods movement and emergency services,” the city explained.

The city’s arguments carry no water.

  • High volume? ❌ 16th is one lane each way and doesn’t carry high volume.
  • Transit services? ❌ There are no buses on 16th in Mount Pleasant, and only one low-frequency bus further west.
  • Gods movement? ❌ 16th is not a truck route; trucks use Broadway, 12th, or 4th
  • Emergency services? ❌ While first responders use most streets in the city, they much prefer the far wider Broadway, King Edward, or 4th Ave.

We emailed the city ourselves and even had a meeting with them to discuss these issues. An excerpt from our email is here. They wouldn’t change their minds. They put hypothetical traffic issues over real safety concerns.

So when this week’s incident occurred, we were angry but not surprised. We’re thankful to the Fairview residents who quickly mobilized to organize a family-centered protest, which we were happy to support.

We’re grateful to councilors Lucy Maloney and Sean Orr who came and spoke in support of safer streets. Hear them speak and see other clips from the protest here:

In an especially touching moment, the parents of the child who were in the stroller spoke. Their nanny, Rosalia, was the woman hit by the driver, and she continues to battle serious injuries in hospital. They’ve set up a Go-Fund-Me to support her care, which you can find here: gofundme.com/f/support-rosalias-recovery-from-tragic-car-accident

The city refused to take action in 2024. Will they listen this time? They have the power to prevent this from happening again.

Please email the mayor and council and demand change. And when we have an election next year, remember who showed up for road safety and who stayed silent.

Ken.Sim@vancouver.ca,
CLRbligh@vancouver.ca,
CLRmaloney@vancouver.ca,
CLRorr@vancouver.ca,
CLRdominato@vancouver.ca,
CLRfry@vancouver.ca,
CLRkirby-yung@vancouver.ca,
CLRklassen@vancouver.ca,
CLRmeiszner@vancouver.ca,
CLRmontague@vancouver.ca,
CLRzhou@vancouver.ca

Posted

in

Tags:

, , , , , ,