Colorado community comes together one year after Littleton 7th grader was hit and killed riding his bike to school
One year ago in Colorado, 13-year-old Liam Stewart was hit and killed by a driver while riding his bike to Euclid Middle School in Littleton.
On Thursday morning, Liam's family, friends, classmates, teachers and even people he never met rode their bikes or walked from the middle school to Bemis Library. A sea of people wearing red moved through the community, as red was Liam's favorite color.
It was a day to remember and honor Liam, but also to push for changes to make the community safer for everyone -- including drivers, pedestrians and bikers.
"The outpouring of love today just really reminds us how important Liam is to this entire community, and also how important the changes are we've been trying to make," said Josh Stewart, Liam's dad.
The deadly accident happened just a few blocks from school. It's where Liam's dad on Thursday shared the message with more than 100 others that every child, who are among the most vulnerable population, has the right to get to school safely.
"They're the most important part of our community. We need to protect them at all costs," said Josh.
The Littleton community was moved by the tragedy and there's a push to make changes to improve infrastructure and make the streets safer for all.
"We don't want car-focused roads anymore. We don't want car-focused streets. We want equitable streets, because streets are for everyone," said Josh.
For Josh, part of the past year was spent advocating in front of the city council and with city leaders, including Mayor Kyle Schlachter.
"We are taking time to plan and spend money, investing in our infrastructure for people that are walking to places, biking to places, rolling, strolling," said Schlachter.
So far, the effort called "Safer Streets Littleton" has helped add 20 new crosswalks at schools, helped step up traffic enforcement in school zones, and launch pilot projects for bikers and pedestrians' safety.
Schlachter said he hopes there's also a culture change in the community, so drivers become more aware of their surroundings and not engage in distracted driving, but also so pedestrians and bikers can be more informed on how to keep themselves safe.
"This is just the start," said Schlachter. "It's going to be a continued effort for years to come, until we have a place where everyone feels safe to walk and bike places."
Thursday morning, the group walked or biked from the middle school to Bemis Library, a route Liam often rode. His father shared a few more words.
"Liam is smiling down right now and he's happy that all of you are joining us today," said Josh.
His family then unveiled a bench in honor of Liam with a quote from one of his favorite shows: Adventure Time. It reads, "Time is an allusion that helps things make sense, so we are always living in the present tense. It seems unforgiving when a good thing ends, but you and I will always be back then."
"It's just sad. Everybody is here for Liam, which shows how much we care about him," said Sebastian, a sixth grader at Euclid Middle School.
"It shouldn't have happened but it's nice that people will recognize him and remember him," said Jackson, another sixth grader at Euclid Middle School.
While it's a step in the right direction, the Stewart family, community members and advocates say much more work is needed to keep everyone safe.
As part of "Safer Streets Littleton," the city wants to increase biker and pedestrian safety in 2025 with pilot projects including protected bike lanes. The city also wants to ramp up education efforts within schools, teaching students what they need to know in order to be safe.
"Over the last year, it really represents the changes that we want to see made," said Josh. "I really hope that other people out there don't have to have a tragedy like this happen to them, so speak up and start talking to their leaders, their governments, their elected officials."
