Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bicycle Infrastructure

D.C. Bike Advocate’s Death Highlights Slow Progress Toward Safe Streets

Volunteers installed a ghost bike for Dave Saloesh on Florida Avenue NE. Photo: Erickson Young on Twitter

Looking back, D.C. bike advocate Dave Salovesh's writing — about the need for better safety protections for cyclists in D.C. — seems almost prophetic.

D.C. bike activist Dave Salovesh was killed on Friday.
D.C. bike activist Dave Salovesh was killed on Friday. Photo by Karen Ramsey via WUSA
D.C. bike activist Dave Salovesh was killed on Friday.

Before he was killed Friday by the driver of a stolen van on an unprotected stretch of Florida Avenue NE — a street with no bike amenities — Salovesh had written, "Separating bike lanes from general traffic, and keeping motor vehicles out, is the best thing cities can do to keep people bicycling safe."

That was in 2015. Just a few weeks ago he added:

https://twitter.com/riotpedestrian/status/1119278796622921729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

This is the intersection where Salovesh was killed. Photo: Google Maps
This is the intersection where Salovesh was killed. Photo: Google Maps
This is the intersection where Salovesh was killed. Photo: Google Maps

Late last year, Alex Baca, formerly of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, now with Greater Greater Washington, told Streetsblog that D.C.'s Vision Zero efforts have been falling short under Mayor Bowser. Baca called the city's efforts a "marketing effort," more than a serious effort to overhaul streets for greater safety.

“You’re not seeing DDOT really do anything that looks like Vision Zero in a measurable fashion,” she told Streetsblog.

Fatalities are down slightly so far this year, but the city reports there have been 99 serious traffic injuries so far this year. About 10 percent of those were to bicyclists.

Salovesh, 54, was an IT worker. Cops say the driver who killed him was speeding when he ran a stop light in a stolen Grand Caravan. The alleged driver, 25-year-old Robert Earl Little Jr., was charged with second-degree murder.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Tuesday’s Sprawling Headlines

Sprawl seems to be having a moment, but it remains a very shortsighted and environmentally disastrous way to solve the housing crisis.

July 1, 2025

Does Constant Driving Really Make Our Country Richer?

A new study reveals that constant driving is making America less productive and prosperous — and getting people on other modes could help right the ship.

July 1, 2025

‘We’re Not Copenhagen’ Is No Excuse Not to Build a Great Biking And Walking City

A team of researchers identified eight under-the-radar cities leading the local active transportation revolution — and a menu of strategies that other communities can and should steal.

June 30, 2025

Monday’s Headlines, Ranked

New reports rank the best cities for biking and the best complete streets policies. Plus, the robotaxi wars have begun.

June 30, 2025

Washington State Is About To Have the First Pro-‘Woonerf’ Law in America

Washington state is making it legal for cities to have people-centered streets in a first-in-the-nation law.

June 30, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Are Doomed

Philadelphia transit is falling off the fiscal cliff, with other major cities not far behind. And the effects of service cuts on their economies could be brutal.

June 27, 2025
See all posts