The event was part of the annual Dusk2Dawn pedestrian safety campaign, organized by Clark County officials and the advocacy group Ped Safe Vegas. The campaign launched last week to call attention to the heightened danger pedestrians face as daylight hours shrink.

"But 172 is not just a number. It represents 172 people who had names, families, friends, plans, and futures. Each death has left a hole in someone's life that can never be filled," Ped Safe said in a statement.

The nine streets were chosen because they are places where dangerous driving behaviors and inadequate roadway infrastructure intersect, according to officials. All nine have posted speed limits of 45 mph, and poor or nonexistent street lighting adds to the risk, Ped Safe said. Speed is a major factor in whether a pedestrian survives a crash.

Charleston Boulevard, the third-deadliest of the nine, accounted for 22 pedestrian deaths.

On Lake Mead Boulevard, volunteers drew an outline for 17-year-old Eric Estrada, who was killed in a crosswalk in February by an impaired, speeding driver. On the westbound side of the same crosswalk, another outline memorialized 27-year-old Keith Ruiz, killed in May 2024. Further west on Lake Mead, near Concord Street, volunteers marked the spot where 11-year-old JaLa Braxton was struck and killed while walking home last year.

Support vehicles shielded the volunteers as they worked along the roadways.

Organizers said the chalk outlines are meant to remind drivers to slow down and watch for people on foot, and to build momentum for permanent changes that prioritize pedestrian safety. Ped Safe argued that deaths like these should prompt ongoing discussion about "whether our streets have been designed with the needs of people walking in mind," adding that "too often, pedestrian deaths are dismissed with assumptions about what the person walking did wrong."

Officials urged drivers to slow down and give the road their full attention.