Copyright Boulder Daily Camera
Thirty-three candles glowed in the atrium of the Longmont Museum on Thursday night, each representing a life lost on Longmont roadways in the past five years. A white “ghost bike,” built by members of the city’s Vision Zero Task Force, stood nearby as a symbol of the vulnerable road users the city hopes to protect. A ceremony, held as part of the global World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on Nov. 16, brought residents, city staff, and first responders together to honor those killed or seriously injured in traffic crashes. Speakers shared their stories of loss and renewal, while coming together to heal and support one another. “Tonight is about honoring, paying tribute to and making a space for people who have lost their lives or been seriously impacted by traffic crashes to come together,” Dylan Zamora-Silva, communications and engagement specialist for the city’s Vision Zero Task Force, said. “We also want to ultimately dedicate and reaffirm our stance on reaching zero deaths and traffic serious injuries by 2040.” Brittany Lamb, who survived a 1997 drunk-driving crash in Longmont that killed her aunt and four others while they were driving back from a performance of “The Nutcracker” at the Buell Theater in Denver, told attendees that healing meant letting go of guilt she carried for decades. She was 12 at the time of the crash. “For years, my truth was that those people died because I was a dancer, because I wanted to see ‘The Nutcracker,’ and that guilt grew into shame, shame that was never mine to carry,” she said. “Healing isn’t pretending you’re fine. It’s learning to let go of what was never yours to hold.” Lamb said she now shares her story “because remembrance must mean more than reflection. It must lead to change.” Camme Edson, Longmont’s Vision Zero coordinator and transportation planning manager, told the audience she grew up in Longmont and has lost neighbors and friends to local crashes. “I am missing and grieving some of the people that we have lost on our roadways. They were my neighbors. They were my friends,” she said. Edson said Vision Zero efforts in Longmont began after staff was hired in 2024 to coordinate safety initiatives and collect crash data. The department has been analyzing data for about a year. In the last five years, Longmont recorded 8,994 crashes; 294 of which have been serious injury crashes. Thirty-three have involved fatalities, according to Edson. She added that distracted driving, speed, and failure to yield remain leading causes of serious crashes. “The kinetic energy, the sheer speed at which we’re going, could be the difference between whether someone survives a serious incident or not,” she said. Since adopting its Vision Zero ordinance in 2023, Longmont has joined other Boulder County communities in pursuing data-driven traffic safety plans. Thursday’s event highlighted how Vision Zero seeks to address both infrastructure-related and behavior-related crashes. Vision Zero has a “safe system” approach, which essentially endorses multiple approaches to traffic safety, according to Zamora-Silva. One of the approaches is “safer people,” which pertains to the behavioral aspects of traffic safety. That can range from addressing drinking and driving to understanding the impacts of driving while fatigued. “It really spans that more human-centric angle of transportation,” Zamora-Silva said. Zamora-Silva added that education and outreach are key parts of the program. The city puts on informational campaigns each year and engages the community through workshops held at the Senior Center. Edson said Thursday’s event underscores how road-safety work is deeply personal for city staff. “Transportation affects our daily lives, whether we actively or consciously think about it or not,” she said. “Our work is technical at times, but it’s so deeply human. While we honor those who are lost tonight, I hope we can use this moment to really renew our individual commitments to protecting one another.” Zamora-Silva said he hopes the Day of Remembrance becomes an annual tradition in Longmont. “I’m really excited to try and make it even better,” he said. “It’s our second year, and I can imagine that our third year is going to be more inviting and bring even more people in.”
