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.