In a perhaps well-meaning but misguided effort to promote pedestrian safety, Santa Monica has disrupted daily travel for tens of thousands of residents, visitors, employees, and local vendors.

In what felt like an overnight coup to many, the City of Santa Monica placed traffic barriers at most intersections along Wilshire Boulevard. With the myriad of problems facing the City—crime, homelessness, budget deficits, and more—the City has apparently decided the real problem lies with people trying to get where they need to go: to work, home, the credit union, or even the local hospital.

It is true that approximately 36% of all traffic accidents occur at intersections. However, according to a study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, only 3% of accidents at intersections were attributed to environmental conditions. In fact, 96.1% of these accidents occurred as a result of driver error. Further, the leading cause among the accidents attributed to driver error was driver distraction.

There are several tools the City could implement to combat driver distraction and protect pedestrians without disrupting travel. These include installing better lighting at intersections, implementing a smart traffic light system, and adding flashing lights at key crossings. Perhaps the best deterrent of all is a black-and-white vehicle with a siren on top. Santa Monica could hire more police officers and keep them visible. This would not only protect pedestrians, but would benefit the entire community as well.

Regardless, the traffic barriers along Wilshire Boulevard must go. Please sign our petition. Your voice matters!  Let’s stand together and say enough is enough!