SALT LAKE CITY — One Utah family is looking back on three loved ones whose lives were lost to traffic violence.
"Sometimes I think about bumper stickers that would send a message... Maybe like, 'Jesus saw you texting while you were driving,'" said Micki Harris.
Harris is part of "Save Not Pave," a Cottonwood Heights group that's met with officials about the dangers of Wasatch Boulevard.
"I'm tired of cyclists and pedestrians being an afterthought and not even being seen on a road. We should be able to use our roads either driving, biking, scootering, walking," said Harris.
Her sister-in-law, Lindsay Kjar, also hopes for more secure routes.
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"It would involve everybody doing, you know, something to pitch in, whether it's our tax dollars or the dangers that exist within every city," Kjar said.
"My sister-in-law Micki Harris, her grandmother was hit by a car. She was just crossing the street and a driver who wasn't paying close enough attention and didn't see her, and she passed away," Kjar said. "And then we have a mutual sister-in-law who passed away two years ago in October, and she was just out on a bike ride while her kids were at school."
That sister-in-law, Jocelyn Harris, was in Colorado when she was hit by a car. She was a wife, mother, and lifelong best friend.
"We did college together. We were on exec council, and she was the one who actually set me up with my husband today," Micki Harris said.
Kjar also lost her dad to traffic violence when she was four years old.
“My father passed away when he was a Utah Highway Patrolman. He was chasing a speeder down Parleys Canyon," she said.
She adds that the holes that are left in their hearts are indescribable.
"It's still tragic. It's so heavy for our whole family, especially for my brother and his children," said Kjar.
The sisters-in-law explained that the road design will change a driver's behavior.
"Usually the lane is really narrow. Sometimes you feel the pinch of the curb and gutter come out that's purposely designed that way so that you as a driver think, 'Oh, I've got to pay attention,'" said Harris.
They're calling on officials to take a closer look at how they can maximize safety, especially for those on foot and on bikes.
"It is my family that I've had to lose and grieve because you had to, what? Get to the grocery store sooner? Or you didn't plan appropriately to get to work on time? That you're just speeding out the door," said Harris.
They're encouraging those behind the wheel to expect pedestrians, slow down and get rid of distractions.
