BWW joins World Day of Remembrance; calls for an end to traffic violence in ICT

BWW hosted World Day of Remembrance for traffic victims along east Douglas Street on Sunday, November 21, joining cities across the U.S. in a call to action to address road safety for all road users.

More than 30 advocates, residents, and members of the media joined BWW at the event, bringing attention to the growing rates of traffic violence along the streets of Wichita. This year has been a violent year for pedestrians and cyclists. More than 121 traffic crashes have been reported in Wichita this year, seriously injuring and killing residents. Local data mirrors national trends, showing sharp increases in the number of injuries and deaths nationwide.

Executive director Kim Neufeld and Reverie Roasters owner and one of BWW’s original founders, Andrew Gough, addressed the crowd and asked for community support in finding solutions geared towards prevention.

“The growing rate of pedestrian-involved crashes in Wichita has been quite alarming,” Neufeld said. “We don’t think it’s okay. We know that there are simple solutions that our city and our community can do to prevent these tragedies.”

To prevent future tragedies, residents and city officials must all act to protect our community from traffic violence.

“Our call to action for the city is to continue to do what they know works. We know the road diets, reducing speeds, and the improvements that they have been doing around the city work. They make a difference, and they save lives,” Neufeld said.

Part of Bike Walk Wichita’s strategic plan to address this issue includes asking the city to adopt Vision Zero, a national plan that includes evidence-based strategies that can reduce traffic crashes by 75% in the next few decades.

Learn more about Vision Zero here: https://visionzeronetwork.org/about/vision-zero-network/

Neufeld acknowledged that driver’s and residents must take action as well.

“We are asking residents to pay attention. All road users – whether you are driving, walking, biking, or in a mobility device – to pay attention, share the road, slow down and we can prevent these tragedies.”

The group paused for a moment of silence to remember traffic violence victims, before embarking on a walk and a ride of silence along two routes on Douglas Street where residents have been injured and killed.

“Wichita is a great community that residents like to get outside in and enjoy,” Neufeld said. “Everyone should go home at the end of the day. Adopting these strategies makes a difference.”

Check out the entire speech via BWW’s Facebook Live post from the event, here: https://fb.watch/9sZBvwftzA/

Check out media coverage here: https://www.kwch.com/2021/11/22/wichita-group-aims-raise-awareness-victims-traffic-accidents/?fbclid=IwAR0o5MKcaDYvGEqQ4NSRGrtAza-4HsDrSG8LEbP8jehKlNcBHr_qguPRSnw

To see what what other communities did for World Day of Remembrance 2021 and to learn more, go to https://visionzeronetwork.org/world-day-of-remembrance-2021/

How can you make a difference?

• Share the road safely with all users
• Encourage others to do the same. Share and comment on related social media
• Ask city staff + decision makers to prioritize street, crosswalk + sidewalk improvements to prevent crashes
• Get involved with one of Bike Walk Wichita’s programs, neighborhood events or ReCycle Shop
• Get outside more + encourage others to
• If you were involved in a crash or saw one that was unreported [as most are], please add a dot to our data map https://bikewalkwichita.org/bike-ped-crash-data/ 

Support Services:

COMCARE

316-660-7700 or Crisis Services at 316.660-7500

Wichita State University Counseling Services

316.978.4792  [students, faculty, community]

United Way 2-1-1  Directory of resources https://www.unitedwayplains.org/211