Imagine losing a loved one in a car accident. Now imagine you were sitting next to them when it happened. That's the tragic reality that Portland traffic safety advocate Sara Risser experienced in January 2019.
I spoke with Ms. Risser this week to learn more about the work she is doing to help families cope with their grief and to help our community recognize the devastating impact of traffic fatalities. I did. But before I could ask Ms. Risser anything else, I asked her to tell me about her son, 18-year-old Henry Zietlow. He was driving on a snowy road when a “clearly negligent and reckless” driver from the opposite direction crossed the road. It crossed the center line and crashed into them.
“It was really heartbreaking,” Risser said. “He was a very beautiful young man. He just came into his own.”
That accident radicalized Risser. “That didn't have to happen. It was preventable,” she told me. And in her moving essay published last fall, Ms. Risser writes: “Once we started realizing how much we had sacrificed for our car-based lifestyles, we couldn't ignore it.”
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In this chat that I uploaded to my podcast (listen above or wherever you get your podcasts), Risser and I also talk about the memorial sign project she started in partnership with BikeLoud PDX, The Street Trust, and Oregon Walks. talked. Risser has installed about 13 signs around Portland so far, with designs inspired by the national nonprofit group Families for Safe Streets. It says, “Our neighbors were killed here,” and includes information on how to get involved with advocacy and support resources for survivors. She plans to keep posting them.
Risser said there were two reasons for undertaking this project. One is to raise awareness about road deaths, and the other is to show how pervasive the problem is across the city (the signage is for all fatalities, not just cyclists and pedestrians). (Note that it will be displayed as “These crashes are happening all over Portland. What I was really hoping was that somebody saw the sign for SE Belmont and saw another sign for Naito Parkway and said, 'Oh, this is a really big problem. “I thought they might start to realize,'' she said.
Sometimes just going out on the street and putting up billboards can be a powerful experience in itself.
On Tuesday, Risser visited southeast Belmont, where David Bentley was beaten to death last Sunday. Risser said people noticed her behavior and became suspicious, thinking her sign was a “no camping” sign. But when they took a closer look at her sign, Risser said: They thanked me many times for putting up signs and bringing attention to this issue. ”
“Usually when I go to put up signs, I'm there by myself,” Risser continued. “But recently there was another situation where a motorcycle crashed and I just happened to be there. It just so happened that the family showed up with flowers. They expressed their great gratitude and We want safer roads and we said we need to pay serious attention to this issue.”
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When Risser isn't telling Henry's story or volunteering with BikeLoud, other things make her happy. She is a competitive rower and a member of the Willamette Rowing Club. “I also love photography. I love birds and birding, and I balance the hard work of road advocacy with other things that can be a little stimulating at times, but that bring me great joy. I also joined a small improv group. We do street theater!”
Risser is considering a new electric bike and hopes it might help her get 100% car-free. As spring approaches, she plans to use it as a birding phone. “When I lived in Minnesota, I had an electric bike and would go out with my camera bag on the back. It was so much fun and I found beautiful birding spots. And that's what I love. It was a combination of everything, and I really hope to do it again this spring.”
— Follow Sarah Risser on X @Henryz_mom.
