Today we grieve in San Francisco.

Maybe you first noticed it when you took a break from your Zoom meeting deluge and jumped out for a coffee — a white bike on the street corner as you waited to cross. You’ve seen some like it — “ghost bikes” — but this one’s new. Or maybe you saw a pair of white shoes instead. Maybe both.

On September 1st, 2020 we turned the streets of San Francisco into a memorial to lives lost — and a beacon of hope for the future. If you didn’t take a moment to scan the QR code, each bike and pair of shoes represents a non-vehicle road user — a pedestrian or a cyclist — who died in that spot, killed by a vehicle that did not see them.

There are 117 people who died within the last five years memorialized throughout the week. Their ages range from people as old as 90, and as young as two. Devastatingly tragic, and in a city like San Francisco — where technology interacts with every single person — totally preventable.

We created !Important because the technology to better alert connected vehicles of our walking and cycling bodies and save lives already exists, and it is urgent that we, as a city that leads the nation in so many ways, act now.

Related posts:

One of the main causes of respiratory diseases in the United Arab Emirates is indoor air pollution. The country’s dusty climate, coupled with indoor cramps, affects indoor air quality. One way to…

Delivered to a first-year associate who had given his opinion, unsolicited, on an esoteric regulatory issue, it sits in the pantheon of colorful partner retorts, right up there with Don Draper’s “I…

Nestled in the heart of the Sunshine State, Haines City, Florida, is a hidden gem that offers residents and visitors a charming lifestyle like no other. From its picturesque landscapes to its…