Missing sidewalks and rushed crossings are not minor inconveniences. For families and residents moving through their neighborhoods on foot, safety depends on what is built, not what is planned.
(CLAIR | Simi Valley, CA) — Earlier this week on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported no immediate signs of speed, impairment or driver distraction.
Safety along the coastal highway has been a longstanding concern, underscored by a 2023 crash that claimed the lives of four Pepperdine University students.
While those fatal incidents occurred miles from Ventura County, they reflect a reality many residents in Simi Valley and Moorpark recognize. In communities designed primarily for cars, walking or biking can be dangerous even when no one appears to be breaking the law.
That danger has surfaced locally in painful ways.
In 2018, a 62-year-old Simi Valley crossing guard was struck and killed while on duty near a school intersection. Earlier that same year, another crossing guard in the city was seriously injured while working outside an elementary school. He was struck by a vehicle after moving another person out of its path.
Cyclists have also been affected. In December 2023, a 45-year-old Simi Valley mother of five was killed when an SUV struck her as she rode her bicycle through an intersection. She was reportedly traveling through a marked area and following the rules of the road.
Together, these incidents trace a familiar pattern.
The loss of two boys in Westlake Village on Sept. 29, 2020, also left a lasting impact on the local community. Brothers Mark Iskander, 11, and Jacob Iskander, 8, were struck and killed while crossing Triunfo Canyon Road at Saddle Mountain Drive. The boys, who served as deacons at a Simi Valley church, were walking with family members in a marked crosswalk when they were hit. Prosecutors later charged the driver with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and hit-and-run.
For residents who walk or ride a bike, the sense of risk often arrives long before any crash occurs.
It is the uneasy moment of stepping off a curb while cars roll forward, even when drivers do not intend to rush anyone.
It is crossing a wide street with a signal counting down too fast, knowing you are expected to hurry.
It is navigating a parking lot without a clear path, balancing bags, watching mirrors and hoping drivers see you.
Walking becomes a juggling act, one mistake away from disaster.
In suburban cities like Simi Valley and Moorpark, vulnerability is built into the landscape. Sidewalk gaps push people into traffic lanes. Signals are frequently timed for vehicle flow rather than for walking speed. Major corridors such as Los Angeles Avenue, along with rural roads between cities, lack continuous and protected routes for people on foot or on bikes.
There are bright spots. Paths like the Arroyo Simi greenway show how non-car routes can help residents move through town more comfortably. But without stronger connections to shopping centers, schools and everyday destinations, those paths often fall short of serving daily needs.
City planners frequently point to studies, grants and long-range mobility plans aimed at improving pedestrian and bicycle access. For families crossing busy streets each day or residents trying to reach work or errands without a car, planning alone does not offer protection.
Improvements such as continuous sidewalks, connected walking paths, visible crosswalks, signals timed for real walking speeds and calmer traffic can change how neighborhoods function. They make it easier to stop at a local coffee shop, run errands on foot or run into neighbors along the way.
All of this exists within shared streets, where responsibility is not one-sided.
Drivers play a role as well. Advanced safety features cannot replace attention behind the wheel. Speed and distraction remain leading contributors to serious crashes, and no technology absolves a driver from watching the road.
As for self-driving and driver-assist systems, they are not flawless. These technologies can miss people or misread real-world conditions, particularly in busy streets and parking lots.
Most people rarely think about street design — until the day it fails them.
Until streets are designed for people as much as for cars, every missing sidewalk, disconnected path and unsafe crossing represents a known risk. When safety is delayed, the gap is often filled by tragedy.
