Longtime road safety advocate and Vision Zero Vancouver volunteer Rhiannon Fox was hit and injured by the driver of a Kia Sorento on Friday afternoon. Fox was returning from a City of Vancouver Vision Zero strategy workshop at City Hall, where she was giving feedback on long-term road safety strategy and goals. The crash happened around 4:45pm at the intersection of E. 2nd Ave and Nootka St.
Traveling on a Lime scooter, Fox was turning left onto Nootka St and despite indicating both with a hand signal and the scooter’s integrated turn signal, the driver behind her decided to pass on Fox’s left in the intersection. She was hit and knocked to the ground. She is left with a broken wrist that will significantly impact her ability to fulfill work and parenting responsibilities.
We are thankful the injuries are not more severe, but outraged at the predictability of this crash. In fact, Fox has been reporting issues on the street for years. She has filed several 311 and email complaints to the city raising concerns about the area, which sits in the centre of an 18 block stretch with no east-west cycling routes, as far back as May 2023:
Reflecting on the crash, Fox recalled several past incidents on the street “On this street alone I’ve witnessed a pedestrian hit by a driver, a two-car crash, and two pets killed. And these issues are not unique to 2nd Ave, they are present all over the city. We need to look at quick-build solutions that the city can implement widely, as well as a dramatic funding increase for road safety. The solutions exist, should we choose to make road safety a priority.
“Road safety measures like raised crosswalks, modal filters, and protected mobility lanes are not luxuries. These changes save lives and reduce injuries for all road users. The refusal to prioritize safety perpetuates a culture that accepts preventable crashes as the cost of mobility.”
In an email dated Feb 2, 2026 Fox was told by city staff that “The area you’ve mentioned (south of 1st Ave and east of Renfrew St) is not on the immediate list of upcoming projects as there are a few neighbourhoods higher up on the prioritization list based on a number of factors. We’ll keep this area in mind as we continue with our traffic management program in the future.”
“It’s horrifying to see this happen to one of our members, who does so much work to try and make the streets safer for everyone,” says Margie Sanderson, Director of Organizing with Vision Zero Vancouver. I wish I could say it’s the first time we’ve had a member hit coming to or from a VZV event, but unfortunately it’s not. Rhi wasn’t the first and she won’t be the last until we see this work really prioritized across the city. For road safety advocates, everyone knows someone who has been hit. This is a grim reality we are forced to live with, not because the solutions are out of reach but because our leaders are failing to act.”
Media inquiries please contact media@visionzerovancouver.ca
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