Traffic safety in San Mateo

You did an incredible job of mixing crash data with comments from those who have been impacted by our dangerous streets.

Most articles on traffic violence do not look at the structural causes of the rising death toll — unsafely designed streets, inadequate enforcement and a lack of funding and processes to respond to tragedies and prevent them from recurring.

One suggestion — please use the term crash or collision instead of “accident.” If our streets are not designed for safety, is it an accident when crashes occur?

By definition, an accident is an event that occurs unexpectedly or without apparent cause. The Associated Press, California Highway Patrol, and others have ceased to use the term “accident” for this reason.

I hope that the city of San Mateo will respond to this escalating threat.

Unfortunately, I am worried that they are moving in the opposite direction. Recently, the city has prioritized staff time and resources to an evaluation of whether to remove the new bike lanes next to San Mateo High and College Park Elementary schools.

In addition, the city tabled pedestrian improvements at Norfolk Street, another dangerous area. Every minute and dollar spent debating these improvements slows implementation of the dozens of projects across San Mateo already identified as necessary to reduce the carnage on our streets.

Keep up the good work!

Mike Swire

San Mateo