Dear Berkeley Neighbors,

Our son was hit by a speeding car Halloween night on Derby Street in SW Berkeley. You may have seen it in the news. We want to share that he is home recovering from surgery for his broken femur, fractured pelvis and head laceration. It’s an absolute miracle that he survived and will make a full recovery. He is in great spirits, playing legos, piano and Minecraft, as usual.

We still do not have a suspect to my knowledge.

I am sharing this story with you, and asking you to sign this petition, to serve as a community's plea to make our neighborhood streets safer. Since moving to Berkeley 6 years ago, we have been concerned about how fast cars are able to speed down our street with nothing to slow them down.

We live on Carleton at Mabel, which is a very dangerous intersection for cars, bikes and pedestrians. There is no stop sign on Mabel, so crossing the street is like a mad dash. Nearly every day we witness cars skidding to a halt and honking horns in order to avoid an accident.

The fact that my son’s accident happened on a quiet stretch of Derby highlights the fact that every street, not just the busy ones, needs the immediate attention of the City of Berkeley. We cannot rely solely on people to obey the speed limit; there must be things in place to slow traffic from a structural standpoint.

The person who hit my child and fled the scene got away too easily going 40+ mph. It was even too fast for any of the onlookers to catch a license plate number, and some people couldn't tell if the car was black or silver. 

Many of us walk our neighborhoods for exercise, commuting, leisure, walking our dogs, riding bikes with our kids. The lack of adequate traffic safety measures, specifically the absence of speed bumps, yellow crosswalks, stop signs and street lights is abhorrent. 

I ask you to sign this petition that I have shared with Mayor Arreguin, all City Council Members, the Berkeley Police Department and the Berkeley Department of Public Works.

1. We are calling for the installation of speed bumps on all streets running east to west between Sacramento and San Pablo, and from Dwight Way to Ashby. These include Dwight, Blake, Parker, Carleton, Derby, Ward, Stuart, Oregon, Russell and Julia streets. Speed bumps have been proven effective in reducing vehicle speeds by 20-25% (source: Federal Highway Administration), making our roads safer.
2. Additionally we demand the establishment of brightly marked crosswalks at key intersections. Pedestrian fatalities are twice as likely to occur at unmarked crossings compared to those with crosswalks (source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).
3. Finally we urge for the addition of stop signs at critical locations, specifically on Mabel at Carleton and at Derby. Stop signs not only regulate traffic flow but also prioritize pedestrian safety by forcing drivers to come to a complete halt.

If you are concerned about your street, please make a formal request to the City of Berkeley for traffic calming measures. 

The safety of our children and community members is paramount. We cannot wait until another tragedy strikes before taking action. Please sign this petition and reach out to the local departments demanding safer streets in Berkeley.

• Mayor Arreguin
• City Council Members
• Berkeley PD
• Dept of Public Works

Sincerely,
Shannon Mitchell & Alicia Schmidt