Vigil for World Day of Remembrance is Sunday, street safety panel Friday

People gather in City Hall for World Day of Remembrance 2016 surrounded by silhouettes representing people who died in traffic in recent years.

A year ago, hundreds of silhouettes of people started showing up along Seattle streets. Each of the 212 figures represented a devastating truth: A person died in traffic here.

The demonstration - organized by Seattle Neighborhood Greenways in partnership with Cascade Bicycle Club, SDOT, Washington Bike Law and more - was a local effort as part of the UN-affiliated World Day of Remembrance for victims of traffic violence.

Well, it's the third week in November again, and traffic violence shows very few signs of slowing down. Our city needs more silhouettes. We will continue needing more every year until we take bold action to improve street safety.

This year, SNG is hosting a Friday lunchtime panel with traffic safety experts as well as city and community leaders. Then there will be a walk and vigil on NE 65th Street Sunday at noon.

Details on the Friday panel from SNG:

Timed to coincide with the World Day of Remembrance, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways and Seattle's Department of Transportation have partnered to produce a lunchtime expert panel on the importance of eliminating fatal and injurious car collisions.

WHAT: World Day of Remembrance - Reflection and Expert Panel

WHERE: The panel event will be held in a comfortable and convenient location, at Impact Hub Seattle, 220 2nd Ave S, in Pioneer Square. Look for signs directing you to the 4th Floor Learning Studio.

WHEN: Friday, November 17, Noon - 1:30

WHO: Short, initial presentations will be made by -

* Gordon Padelford, executive director of Seattle Neighborhood Greenways;
* Council Member Sally Bagshaw;
* Eric Sano of SPD's Traffic and Traffic Collision Investigation Squad;
* Stephen Mooney of Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center
* Marilyn Black, widow of traffic victim Max Richards
* Jim Curtin, senior transportation planner for the Seattle Department of Transportation;

To be followed by a 40-minute expert panel, including:
* Kelsey Mesher, Puget Sound policy manager of Cascade Bicycle Club,
* Sandra Maqueda of Spanish-language radio KKMO
* Allison Schwartz of the SDOT's Vision Zero Team
* Merlin Rainwater, co-leader of Central Seattle Greenways

This event couldn't be more timely. Seattle is not making the progress we need to on our Vision Zero goals. Seattle has had 20+ crash-based fatalities in the past year - that's 20+ too many.

If you are concerned about transportation and public health & safety in Seattle, and/or if you share the belief that people have a fundamental right to walk, bike, and drive on streets that are designed and built for safety, we hope you'll join us.

And details on Sunday's NE 65th Street memorial walk:

Please join us this weekend for a neighborhood vigil and procession to remember the people who were killed on NE 65th Street in 2017.

WHEN: Sunday, November 19, at noon

WHAT: As part of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, join your neighbors in commemorating the two people killed while crossing NE 65th Street this past year.

WHERE: We will meet at the corner of Roosevelt and NE 65th Street and place a silhouette in remembrance of Junhui Wang (age 26), who was struck as she crossed the street and died as a result of her injuries January 26, 2017. Last year, we placed a silhouette at this same corner for yet another fatal trafffic collision.

We will then walk east on NE 65th Street and place a silhouette on the corner of 20th Avenue NE and NE 65th Street in remembrance of Doris Van Allen (age 89), who was struck as she crossed the street and died as a result of her injuries February 4, 2017.

This event couldn't be more timely. Seattle is not making the progress we need to on our Vision Zero goals. Seattle has had 20+ crash-based fatalities in the past year - that's 20+ too many.

If you are concerned about transportation and public health & safety in Seattle, and/or if you share the belief that people have a fundamental right to walk, bike, and drive on streets that are designed and built for safety, we hope you'll join us.