#stevenhulsman — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #stevenhulsman, aggregated by home.social.
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Steve and Rita Hulsman. Photo courtesy of Rita.Rita Hulsman lost her husband of more than 40 years in December when a person turned his Chevy Tahoe in front of Steve while Steve biked downhill on Marine View Drive SW not far from his home. Steve died shortly after the collision. He was 66.
In the months since that horrible day, Rita has become an outspoken advocate for the need for safer streets. She attended City Council Transportation Committee meetings to testify about the need for increasing safety funding in the transportation levy they were developing, and now she is urging Seattle voters to approve Proposition 1.
Rita penned an op-ed, which Cascade Bicycle Club published on their blog. She makes a powerful and heartfelt case in favor of the proposition, but perhaps because my mother was an elementary school teacher and my kid is now in first grade, this section really got to me:
As a recently retired elementary school teacher, I encourage you to think about the many students who deserve safe routes to schools. As a widow and mom, I urge you to think of your family members, friends and neighbors who deserve the right to safely walk, bike, and roll through our neighborhoods.
Whether it’s a transportation levy or any other issue, these are the thoughts that should guide everyone’s voting decisions. What would be best for the next generation and for the people you love? We must invest in solutions so that young people today are not doomed to repeat the tragedies of the current generation.
I urge all Seattle voters to support Proposition 1, the Keep Seattle Moving Transportation Levy, which will appear on your Nov. 5 general election ballot. It comes too late for Steve, a pillar of the Seattle bicycling community, but approving this sensible transportation package could save the lives of other people who walk, bike, or roll on Seattle’s frequently inhospitable and dangerous streets.
Thank you, Rita.
Read her full op-ed on the Cascade Blog.
#SEAbikes #Seattle
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bHFp7gSCaU
As captured on video by West Seattle Blog, Rita Hulsman chose to use her address to the crowd gathered Saturday for a memorial bike ride in honor of her late husband Steve to promote action to make sure traffic deaths like his do not continue happening to others (starts at 6:45 in the video):
“Steve would be so honored to see you here today to remember him. He was so skilled and passionate about bicycling, and I’ve heard from so many of you who used to cycle with him about how he was helpful and encouraging to others who found the very, very, very hilly routes that he rode to be maybe a little bit more than some people had bargained for. He was there to help people and encourage people along the way. Thank you for those kind words about him. It meant more than I can tell you in the months that have passed since his untimely death.
Earlier this year, I became involved in advocating for safety improvements for bicyclists, for pedestrians and for other vulnerable users of our city streets. And I did that by speaking up at City Council Transportation Committee meetings. I am pleased that the full council passed a great transportation levy proposal that will come before those of us who live in Seattle this November. If you live in Seattle, I strongly encourage you to vote yes on the 2024 transportation levy.”
Ever since news broke of that horrible day in December when a person driving a Chevy Tahoe turned in front of Steve’s path as he biked the long and fast downhill on Marine View Drive SW in West Seattle, Rita has been focused on changing city policy to promote safer streets. She and I emailed a few times back in March because she wanted advice on identifying organizations working on safe streets. “Steve’s death is just senseless to me,” she wrote, “but advocating for action to make our roads safer for cyclists will, I hope, give me some sense of consolation.” She later donated the funds raised through a memorial GoFundMe campaign to Cascade Bicycle Club and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways.
She didn’t stop there. As City Council Transportation Committee Chair Rob Saka said in his remarks before the ride Saturday (2:30 mark in the video), Rita showed up to every committee meeting in which the 2024 Transportation Levy was being considered to testify in favor of increasing funding for safer streets.
“Rita showed up at every single transportation committee meeting where we discussed and considered the levy,” he told the crowd. “Her voice was well represented, testifying, holding me and my City Council colleagues accountable to make sure we have proper investments baked into the transportation levy to do more to protect the most vulnerable users. And my commitment is to all users. I want to thank Rita for her leadership, her passion, and making sure that the voice of your family is represented in this transportation levy.”
He added that if the levy passes, one of his amendments included building protected bike infrastructure named in Steve’s honor.
“Rita deserves better, the family of Steve deserves better, you all deserve better,” he said.
Thank you, Rita, and may Steve rest in peace.
#SEAbikes #Seattle
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Saturday: Cascade will host 3 rides in memory of Steve Hulsman
The kind of elevation chart Steve loved. (From the very difficult route option)Cascade Bicycle Club is hosting a set of memorial rides 9 a.m. Saturday (September 7) “to celebrate the life of Steve Hulsman,” a longtime Cascade ride leader who was killed while biking on Marine View Drive in West Seattle in December.
Hulsman loved riding difficult hills and measured his biking in feet of elevation rather than miles, and as a ride leader he specialized in teaching people the art of climbing on a bike. At the time of his death, he had registered 787,641 feet of climbing to his Strava account.
That’s why Cascade is offering three route options beginning and ending at Lincoln Park Saturday morning. One is on relatively flat roads and trails (though it is still 14 miles), the intermediate/difficult route is 25 miles with 2,473 feet of elevation gain, and the full Hulsman route is 43 miles with more than 4,500 feet of elevation gain (you probably want to be trained up for that one). The intermediate and very difficult routes will both pass through the intersection where he was killed, which is about a mile south of the starting point of the rides (Marine View Drive SW/46th Ave SW).
Everyone is invited whether they knew Steve personally or not. Friends and family will share some words at the start.
Please join us on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 9:00 am for a memorial ride to celebrate the life of Steve Hulsman, the long-time Cascade member and volunteer Ride Leader who was tragically hit and killed while biking in West Seattle in December.
We will gather at 9 a.m. in the main parking lot at Lincoln Park in West Seattle, where Steve’s family and close friends will speak about his life and love of bicycling. We will also hear from elected officials about the need for continued investment in protected bike lanes and active transportation infrastructure to improve safety for people biking and walking. Before departing by bike, we will raise a toast to Steve (coffee, Nuun, and orange juice will be provided). The ride is expected to start at about 10 a.m. following a safety briefing from Cascade Ride Leaders. All riders must wear a helmet and attend the safety briefing to participate.
*Note: We are offering three separate routes for this ride: an “easy” route out to the West Seattle Passenger Ferry Terminal and back along relatively flat roads and trails (14.1 miles/ 423 ft of elevation gain), and hillier option that is an “intermediate to difficult” route (25 miles/ 2,473 ft of elevation gain) and a “very difficult” route that should only be attempted by experienced cyclists (42.7 miles/ 4,518 ft elevation gain).
These routes are self paced in nature, meaning that you can ride them at your own pace, by yourself, or with friends. We will have organized group rides led by ride leader volunteers offered at most paces for those that prefer to ride in a group. You are welcome to choose if you would prefer to ride by yourself or join one of the organized rides. Regardless of which route you choose to ride, we will all be starting from the same starting point.
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Rita Hulsman donates $20,000 from GoFundMe for late husband Steve to benefit safe streets orgs
Watch the KIRO 7 News report.In the aftermath of the devastating news that Steve Hulsman was struck and killed while biking in West Seattle, 177 people donated more than $20,000 to help his wife Rita cover costs related to his death. But Rita had a different idea in mind for this money raised with love for her and her late husband: Use it to make streets safer so this doesn’t happen again.
Rita donated $10,000 to both Cascade Bicycle Club and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways to support their work to improve street safety. “I don’t want anyone else to go through what my husband went through and I know the work you do will move that along,” she said to Cascade Executive Director Lee Lambert during a KIRO 7 News report.
The driver who struck and killed Steve, who KIRO 7 News identified as Aaron Ludberg, has not been charged for actions directly related to the collision. He is facing lesser charges for driving with a suspended license and driving without a court-mandated ignition interlock device. We reported previously on the investigation in which SPD’s Traffic Collision Investigation Squad did not begin working the case until after the scene had been cleared and streets were reopened.
Steve sought out difficult rides with lots of climbing, which is why he was riding on Marine View Drive that evening in December. It was a route he had done countless times, and he was scheduled to lead a free group ride along it just days later. After his death, many people posted remembrances of how he had been an encouraging presence to help them complete difficult rides like the annual Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day (RAMROD) event with its 10,000 feet of elevation gain. Rita told KIRO 7 News that Steven didn’t count miles, he counted feet of elevation gain. His goal was to log 1,000,000 feet of climbing to his cycling tracker Strava. When he died, he had climbed 787,641 feet, just 212,359 feet short of his goal.
From Rita:
Dear Tom,
Thank you for your suggestions on which organizations I should consider for distributing the proceeds of the Remembering Steve Hulsman fundraiser I set up on GoFundMe several months ago. After getting acquainted with each organization, I zeroed in on two that seem centered on the kinds of efforts I want to focus on in the aftermath of my husband’s death. And since then I have distributed all of the proceeds of the Remembering Steve Hulsman fundraiser to two organizations.
This evening I posted an update on the Remembering Steve Hulsman GoFundMe page to let the almost 200 donors know how their contributions had been distributed, and I thought you might be interested as well, so I’ve included that update below my signature. Please feel free to share it with your readers if you wish.
Best regards,
Rita Hulsman
Thank you again for contributing to the Remembering Steve Hulsman GoFundMe. I have been so deeply touched by the generosity of the nearly 200 donors to this fundraiser which I set up initially to help cover medical costs for my late husband’s medical treatment and care in the hours before he passed away. Once I learned that these costs would be almost entirely covered by our medical and uninsured motorist insurance, I decided to pay your contributions forward to organizations that focus on cycling advocacy, education, and safety to decrease the likelihood that what happened to Steve would happen to another cyclist.
I am happy to report that as of Friday, May 10, all of the funds raised through the Remembering Steve Hulsman fundraiser have now been distributed to two very worthwhile organizations: Cascade Bicycling Club and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways. In response, each organization has provided an explanation of how the funds that you contributed will be used. Following is what each organization wrote.
From Cascade Bicycle Club:
Your generous contribution in Steve’s memory will bolster Cascade Bicycle Club’s efforts to make bicycling safer. Specifically, these funds will help cover the staff costs of our policy team’s efforts to make our streets safe for people who walk or bike. Over the next six months, the team will be focused on ensuring bicycle safety is prioritized and funded in the Seattle Transportation Levy. Team members will participate in advisory committees, attend public hearings, and mobilize the Cascade Community to make their voices heard.From Seattle Neighborhood Greenways:
Purpose
The purpose of this gift is to advocate for improving safety for people bicycling in Seattle. Since our founding in 2011, we have organized and mobilized people to make every neighborhood a great place to walk, bike and live. We believe it is possible to transform our city into a place where it is safe, comfortable and convenient for people of all ages and abilities to bicycle, whether they use a bike to get where they need to go or to stay active and recreate.This gift comes at a transformative moment, as Seattle faces decisions that will determine whether the city will take bold action to prevent what happened to Steve from happening to anyone else. SNG is positioned to mobilize its coalition of 13 volunteer-led local groups, 2,000+ volunteers, partners and allies to push for meaningful progress.
Use of Funds
Specifically, SNG will use this gift in support of its 2024 work on the following priorities:Seattle Transportation Funding: The 20-year Seattle Transportation Plan was adopted in late April. This June, an 8-year levy to fund it is expected to be placed on the November ballot. We are working to secure at least $200 million for bicycling and Vision Zero projects.
Vision Zero: Seattle is in a traffic safety crisis and we must make sure that everyone can get home safely. This work includes advocating to fix the city’s most dangerous streets – Aurora Ave N, Rainier Ave S, MLK Jr. Way S, 4th Ave S in SODO, and Lake City Way NE. It also includes spot safety improvements throughout the street network.
UnGap the Map: 80% of people biking who are killed on our streets are run over on streets without bike infrastructure. We’ll continue our advocacy to connect every neighborhood with a safe bike route. Key corridors of focus include Beacon Ave S along its southern sections (working with Beacon Hill Safe Streets) and Sylvan Way SW & Fauntleroy Way SW (working with West Seattle Bike Connections). Together with our network of local groups we have produced a map of bike routes that should be prioritized for safety upgrades.
To advance these priorities, SNG will: (1) engage community members in identifying community needs and advocating for solutions and investments that improve access to safe, comfortable and convenient bike routes; (2) make the possible visible by supporting neighborhood volunteer projects and storytelling about bicycling safety; (3) build public support for change through coalition building with groups working for a more bikeable, walkable and liveable city; and (4) work to hold the city accountable for achieving safety goals. This funding will also help leverage other individual contributions, foundation grants and corporate support to provide the collective resources necessary to advance these efforts.
So once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your contribution to this effort. I look forward to developing an ongoing relationship with these two organizations and working with them on bicycling and pedestrian safety initiatives throughout our city and region.
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Widow asks Seattle and King County to take action against person who killed Steve Hulsman
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Police: Person who killed Steve Hulsman was driving with a suspended license
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