If you ride your bike in Denver, you need to be alert. The Denver Police have been giving tickets to bicyclists who are breaking traffic laws. I’ve noticed that over the past few weeks they have been ticketing riders who are hit by cars, even when the cyclists were not at fault for the accidents. Obviously, it is important for all riders to follow local traffic laws. But, it seems like Denver police have decided to issue tickets to bicycle riders for the most minor infractions. According to a Denver Post article , a police officer was ticketing cyclists on East 14th Avenue between Broadway and Lincoln Street for riding on the sidewalk, even though there is no bike lane on this busy, one-way street.
For the record, it’s OK to ride your bike on a sidewalk in Denver if you are within a block of parking your bike and are traveling 6 mph or less.
Like many of you, I have multiple bikes – one for mountain biking, one for road rides, and a fun cruiser for commuting to work and riding around the park with my kids. I try to ride my bike to work whenever I can, and I can feel tension rising between bike riders and cars. As more and more people take to the streets on their bikes, it is clear that we need more biking lanes. Call your local city council person and ask that he or she make more bike lanes a priority.
