Death Isn’t Everything?

For over 30 years, we worked to get bicycle lanes and safe pedestrian crossings in Old Town Goleta. Endless meetings, hearings, studies, surveys and public input. It was never enough. Seven lanes were devoted to motor vehicles: Four traffic lanes, a center turn lane and two lanes for parking motor vehicles. But no room for bicyclists or refuges for pedestrians.

An argument that often came up: How many bicyclists and pedestrians died in those few blocks? Quite a few, actually. A friend recently posted this on her Facebook page:

Drivers are afraid that bicyclists and pedestrians will inconvenience them.

Bicyclists and pedestrians are afraid that drivers will kill them.

The asymmetry is striking. But is death everything? There are few deaths of pedestrians or bicyclists on Highway 101. Because it is not a place most bicyclists or pedestrians would go. One way to reduce deaths is to make a place so terrifying that no one would even try to be there.

And what about the fear and stress of bicyclists and pedestrians? Does it only count if they die?

After 30 years of struggle and public outcry, the current Goleta City Council showed the courage to reconfigure those blocks in the heart of Goleta for everyone. There are still five lanes devoted to motor vehicles. But now there is space for people not in steel cages.

There was immediate posturing and pandering by a few very vocal rabble rousers who were enraged that any space should be taken away from motorists. I hope these people are soundly defeated at the November election.

I wrote an article for my Edhat News column, calmly laying out the history and facts. Most comments were supportive. But the entitled motorists would have none of this. And the most interesting comments claimed that it is absurd to aim for no deaths by motor vehicles. Claiming that the deaths are “rare” and the inconvenience to prevent them is too high.

I am often on the other side of this: I get angry about invasive searches to prevent rare terrorist attacks. Because in fact those are rare events and millions of hours a year are wasted averting them. But deaths by motor vehicle are not rare.

And, again, perhaps this misses the point? Old Town Goleta is not supposed to be a freeway. It is supposed to be a place where people live, work, shop, play and attend community and recreational events.

For all we know, creating bike lanes and pedestrian crossings could increase deaths, at least in the short term. How? By inviting more people to bike and walk in an area where there are far too many motor vehicles. But even with more deaths, quality of life is improved. People are out and about, free to experience their community outside a vehicle. And maybe more people will choose that option and leave their cars behind. Making things safer for everyone.

I am reminded of the calls for “Peace with Justice.” The world could live in peace if everyone just surrendered to dictators and bullies. There would be few deaths in such a world. But is that the world we want? Trump claims he could end Putin’s war on Ukraine in one day. Presumably, by cutting off weapons to Ukraine and having them surrender. Do we want that? Would it end there? Perhaps Putin would see it as an invitation to repeat his behavior in other countries in the region?

The Climate Crisis has barely even started, but already there are millions of Climate Crisis refugees worldwide from drought and flooding. But maybe it is OK that they are forced from their homes as long as they don’t die?

Four million Black human beings were held as slaves in the U.S. at the time of the Civil War. Was that OK as long as they were treated as valuable property and not killed?

Instead, most people prefer a world where everybody feels secure and welcome in their homeland. Where everybody has freedom and a voice in how things are run. And where everybody has the option to move freely without being in an armored vehicle.