Fifteen intersections in San Diego have been called out by an advocacy group for being the most dangerous in the city for pedestrians.

The regional nonprofit Circulate San Diego on Wednesday identified the “Fatal Fifteen” that account for the most pedestrian injuries and deaths in a 15-year span — a total of 207.

Making these intersections safer would be easy, the group said. Add some white paint to crosswalks and install a programmed voice traffic signal.


Those simple steps would go a long way in reducing the number of accidents, which has been going up for the past three years, said Kathleen Ferrier, Circulate San Diego’s advocacy director.

Topping the “Fatal Fifteen” list are two sections of University Avenue in City Heights, at Marlborough Avenue and at 52nd Street. Eighteen pedestrians were seriously injured in each area from 2001 to 2015.

Another section, at University Square Driveway near 58th Street in El Cerrito, had the highest number of pedestrian deaths: three in 15 years.


Last year’s pedestrian deaths citywide hit 23, up from 21 the year before and 21 in 2014. Serious injury accidents totaled 55 last year, 54 in 2015 and 38 in 2014.

San Diego police said pedestrian fatalities are on the rise statewide, too.

Ferrier joined City Council members Georgette Gomez and Chris Ward and others at University and Marlborough to bring attention to the numbers and get the city to act.

Ferrier praised city leaders for adopting the “Vision Zero” program last year. Its goal is to eliminate all traffic deaths in the city by 2025, through enforcement, education and street engineering.


“Yet at these (15) intersections, modern safety improvements have not been implemented,” she said. “Noticeably missing are simple infrastructure solutions like paint and signals to make the most crash-prone intersections safe.”

She urged that crosswalks be painted with white “ladder” or “zebra” stripes for increased visibility, and that traffic signals include a pedestrian countdown signal and audible prompts to let people know when it’s safe to cross.

Councilman Ward, whose council district includes North Park, agreed that pedestrian safety need to be a higher priority.

“People simply don’t get out of their cars if they don’t feel safe,” he said.


For Ababa Woza, the issue is very personal.

Woza lost his brother to a traffic accident in North Park last fall.

Abera Kebede Tura, 67, was crossing El Cajon Boulevard at Kansas Street during the daytime on Sept. 16. The 27-year-old driver told police he didn’t see Tura until it was too late to stop.

Woza,who attended Wednesday’s news conference, said that intersection has no traffic signal or painted crosswalks. He wants the city to install them.


Other neighborhoods on the “Fatal 15” included Pacific Beach, Hillcrest, downtown, Paradise Hills, Valencia Park, Egger Highlands and Nestor.

San Diego police say the pedestrians are at fault in a majority of cases when they are hit by cars.

Police ran a traffic safety enforcement and education operation in City Heights on Monday, handing out eight citations and 49 warnings, mostly to pedestrians who crossed streets when it wasn’t safe, said traffic unit Officer Mark McCullough.

He said the four officers and sergeant who spent the day on University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard also handed out safety fliers to pedestrians, drivers and business owners.


“It’s the first time we’ve gone out and concentrated our efforts on pedestrians at that location,” McCullough said.

He said similar operations will be run in coming months in other areas of the city where the number of pedestrian accidents is high.