By Mary O’KEEFE

Members of SAFE (Streets Are For Everyone) and concerned community members took to the podium at the Los Angeles City Council meeting on Tuesday to ask for a state of emergency declaration concerning traffic accidents in LA. 

The first to the City Council podium was SAFE’s executive director and founder Damian Kevitt.

“I am also a survivor of traffic violence on the roads of Los Angeles where I lost my leg and nearly my life,” he told the Council. “We are here today because per CHP [California Highway Patrol] in 2025, 324 people died on Los Angeles roads, which was a 3.5% increase compared to the year before…. We are here today because per LAPD [Los Angeles Police Dept.], for the third year in a row, in the City of Los Angeles there were more traffic fatalities than homicides. We are here today because right now the number of traffic fatalities is 8% more than the same time last year. We are here today to say enough is enough.”

Kevitt was followed by people who shared their fears of being a pedestrian and cyclist and even a driver on the streets. 

Many of those who spoke to the Council shared their stories, albeit briefly; they were only given one minute to speak. Many of them shared personal experiences – from those who were struck while on the roads to those who had lost their loved ones to drivers who were distracted, sped and hit-and-run. All shared their frustration with the Council because they felt the Council has not been proactive with this increasingly dangerous issue. 

SAFE members presented the City Council with a petition that contained over 1,000 signatures, as of Tuesday, asking for the City to declare a state of emergency. 

In the letter of request, which was presented by SAFE and People’s Vision Zero, it stated that the City of LA “has not been taking traffic violence and the public health crisis … seriously.”

Their opinion is supported by Vision Zero, which started in 2015. An LAPD report stated traffic fatalities have increased by 56% since 2015. 

“Between 31 January and 5 February 2026, there were two mass traffic fatality events, resulting in five people killed and seven others seriously injured. The City of Los Angeles was about to return 100 million dollars in road safety funding to the State of California because it didn’t have the manpower to use the money,” the letter states. 

Vision Zero has been implemented across Europe and several U.S. states including New York and Washington.

“[Vision Zero] is an [LA] citywide effort that brings together transportation engineers, police officers, advocates and policymakers to work together toward creating safer streets. Our focus is on protecting our most vulnerable road users, including children, older adults and people walking and bicycling,” according to the LA Dept. of Transportation.

The letter in its entirety can be found at https://tinyurl.com/4u2rtfuc.

Anyone interested can sign the petition at that site as well.