A Rainbow Halo to Memorialize the Location of Traffic Fatalities

Laura J. Nelson reports on a new program in the city of Los Angels that is installing "rainbow halos" at locations where drivers, pedestrians, and people on bikes have been killed in traffic collisions.

The first rainbow halo to be installed will commemorate the death of Conor Lynch, who was killed by a driver in 2010 while crossing the street in the neighborhood of Sherman Oaks.

"Nearly a decade later, the intersection where he died has a new feature: a vivid, multicolored disc, about the size of a dinner plate, that casts a rainbow shadow across the pavement and a green bus bench that bears his photo," writes Nelson.

Nearly 100 memorials are scheduled for installation, reports Nelson, in the hopes of raising awareness about traffic safety in addition to memorializing tragedies.

"After Lynch’s memorial was installed, city crews added halos at crash sites in Sunland, Vermont Square and Del Rey. Others are planned in Frogtown, Shadow Hills, Wilmington, Silver Lake and Carthay. At some intersections that have seen multiple deaths, the halos could honor several people," explains Nelson.

"The public art project is part of Vision Zero, Mayor Eric Garcetti’s initiative to eliminate traffic deaths on Los Angeles streets by 2025," according to Nelson. Vision Zero is under new scrutiny in many cities, where traffic fatalities are still increasing despite the stated goals of Vision Zero efforts. In Los Angeles, fatal car crashes increased between 2018 and 2015, the latter being the year Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti adopted the city's Vision Zero policy. So far this year, fatalities have dropped by 1 percent from this time a year ago.