A Modest Proposal for the Berkeley City Council

The City clearly has goals for its streets. It should state them clearly.

January 27, 2023

Dear Members of the Berkeley City Council,

I am writing to express my deep dismay that the Council has been bullied, once again, by one of its own members into second-guessing its previously approved plans for safe bike lanes on Hopkins Street. While others have weighed in with their specific issues related to Hopkins, I would like to request that the full Council consider this issue in context, and act based on its publicly-implied, if not stated, intentions.

Berkeley's streets are deadly by design, and not just on Hopkins. The status quo that the Council is being pressured to maintain will result in people being killed, or maimed for life, by drivers. We can say this with absolute certainty, and I believe that every sitting member of the City Council would accept that this is a true statement.

But rather than argue over the merits of Hopkins Street bike lanes -- which will objectively and predictably save lives -- or continue to beg for safe streets from members of the Council who plainly do not care about our safety, I'd like to request that the full Council publicly re-state and clarify its annual goals on the specific topic of street safety and human lives lost or permanently altered.

In past years, the City of Berkeley has adopted numerous plans, such as "Vision Zero," that conveyed the intent of the Council to fully eliminate traffic deaths and injuries. But any resident of Berkeley knows that these plans are not sincere and are merely window dressing on the Council's true agenda, as such plans are routinely derailed by members of the Council who clearly never intended to make our streets safe.

The problem is, we do not know what the Council's true agenda is. Adopted plans on paper that do not translate into actual concrete and steel, placed in Berkeley's roadways in such a way that leads to fewer deaths and injuries, are deeply misleading; these plans actually put at risk the lives of Berkeley residents who trust that the City is sincere in its intent to advance the cause of safe streets.

So, my request is that the City Council of the City of Berkeley formally publish, at the beginning of each year, the expected number of deaths and violent injuries it plans to allow on its streets during that year. For example, based on traffic violence data from past years, the City could formally publish on its website and in press and formal announcements from the Mayor's office:

"In 2023, The City of Berkeley will allow drivers to kill 8 pedestrians, 4 cyclists, and permanently injure 130 people within its jurisdiction. We appreciate the willingness of our residents to sacrifice their lives and bodies so that our more politically powerful residents can easily park their cars in front of their homes or businesses."

Such an annual statement would have the benefit of not only alerting Berkeley residents to the severe risks they face when navigating Berkeley's streets, but also making the city's actual policy and budget priorities clear -- while extending a token of appreciation to those poor souls whose lives were cut short or catastrophically altered as a result of City transportation policies. 

Maintaining the pretense that the Berkeley City Government cares about safe streets insults the intelligence of residents who have watched this game play out, over and over again, for decades. There's no need to continue the charade; we can all see what's happening on our streets.

In the spirit of transparency and honesty, I hope the Council will seriously consider this approach.

Best,
Matthew Lewis

District 3 Homeowner/Property Tax Payer