Can the region make the roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists?

If you are a pedestrian out for a walk anywhere in Colorado you may want to change your posture from “relaxed afternoon stroll” to “high-alert combat positioning.” That’s because one-fifth of all traffic fatalities in the state involve pedestrians. The shock of that number is naturally followed by a question: why. Or perhaps the more accurate question is how. It’s a question with a heightened level of importance as we move into spring and summer and more of our neighbors head out for a morning ride or after dinner stroll.

An Alarming Trend

According to a March 2026 release from the Colorado Department of Transportation, 127 pedestrians were killed on Colorado roadways in 2025. This is nearly double the amount of pedestrian deaths the state saw just a decade earlier.

If you’re thinking of trading in your pedal pushers for actual pedals and making a bike your primary mode of transportation, you might get somewhere faster but it’s not necessarily going to be a safer trip. Over the past decade there has been an average of 1,370 incidents involving bicycle riders on Colorado roadways. While most of those left victims with only injuries, far too many resulted in a fatality. In 2023, twenty cyclists lost their lives on the Colorado roadways. That number dropped to fourteen in 2024 but moved back up in 2025 when eighteen cyclists were killed in separate crashes.

The ebike dilemma

Complicating this discussion has been the ascension of the eBike (and comparable electric scooters). These motorized transports have increased mobility options for residents and, in doing so, cut back on the number of cars on the road. But they have done so at a speedy price. Depending on their class rating, an eBike can travel between 15 – 30 miles an hour (although most average 15-20 mph). It’s a rate of speed that belies the “bike” part of its name because eBikes can be difficult to control at that speed and cavalier riders can create traffic incidents.

It’s become a popular question, not just locally, but around the country – how should the ebike be classified? That’s an important question because with a classification, safety regulations can follow. To determine that though, speed and shape say two different things and the answer is probably somewhere in the difference.

In 2025 the Colorado General Assembly passed HV 25-1197 which was an attempt to regulate the discussion around ebikes in the state. The law set out requirements for helmet use, labeling, and battery certification. In terms of tightening the parameters of when and where an ebike can be ridden, lawmakers settled on establishing an eBike class system. This puts control in the communities, allowing them to decide what type of bike can be ridden in what location. The (perhaps) unintended consequence of this approach is a degree of confusion for ebike operators as what’s a permitted, legal use in one town may be prohibited the next town over. The issue with what could be seen as a patchwork legal approach is that everyone in community A has one set of expectations and in community B they have a separate set. When a community member crosses over accidents can happen because of those fundamental differences in expectations they are operating under.

And yet, for now there doesn’t seem to be any appetite to return to the discussion. Colorado State Representative Rick Taggart said “At this point, I don’t see myself revisiting that issue at the state level. I believe this is best handled locally, where communities can make decisions that fit their own trails, infrastructure, and needs. Local governments are in a better position to determine what type of motorized vehicles should or shouldn’t be allowed on their bike paths and trail systems.” 

Sue Prant, Executive Director of Community Cycles in Boulder said “The state treats every road like it’s a giant highway and they want the most thru-put possible, but the truth is, in Colorado, many roads that it seems like a community should have local control over to make it safer and work with the surroundings are actually “state highways” because all state roads are considered “state highways”.”

“There are certainly areas where a statewide approach makes sense, like battery safety standards, but when it comes to how trails are used, especially dirt and gravel systems, that’s something I think should remain a local decision,” Taggart said

The focus of the issue of safety and how to draw down the numbers of preventable pedestrian and cyclist deaths in the region is found in the balance of education and awareness and legal guardrails. Like many issues, laws are needed because some people struggle with taking common sense actions. For example, not driving distracted.

A cyclist pedals through the intersection of Seventh and Williams streets in Denver on Friday, June 9, 2023. Bike safety improvements in the intersection, including white plastic posts, have drawn criticism from some neighbors. But cyclists say they will help prevent crashes and save lives.

Vision Zero Action Plan

In 2024, Boulder County attempted to set the groundwork for a path to safer streets, particularly for bike riders and pedestrians. After a year plus of studies and surveys, town hall meetings and data review sessions, the Vision Zero Action Plan team released three action plans in July and August of last year. The plans were specific to the roadways of Boulder County, Superior, and Lafayette. (Longmont has their own version of Vision Zero.) City officials hope that these plans help to eliminate deaths caused by motor vehicles by 2040. It is admittedly a long lead team but, in all respects, a practical and pragmatic one.

While the Vision Zero program is not a law per se, it follows the form and structure of one and legal experts say that there can be a significant period needed for behavioural change in circumstances like this. A study produced by the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that “changing a behavior can be an inherently unstable and unsteady process; frequent lapses and relapse should be expected to occur.” The goal of the Vision Zero programs then becomes finding ways to shorten that process because there are literally lives on the line.

Liviana Lewin, Boulder County Vision Zero Program Manager, said “In addition to engineering guidance and infrastructure projects, the plan includes proposed enforcement actions, education, and other approaches that help raise awareness about safe travel. The plan has flexibility in it to work with regional partners to address ongoing issues. For example, in the last several months we have seen an increase in the use of “e-motos”—with close calls and crashes—particularly among youth. These “e-motos” sometimes look like e-bikes but which have more powerful motors, higher speeds, and different regulations that many people are not aware of. We now have a working group of multiple agencies addressing this safety issue together.”

Brian Hannon, the owner of Boulder Bicycle Works, believes a shift in safety starts with refocusing priorities which he admits can be difficult. “How do you change people’s habits and attitudes? How do you get people out of oversized Tonka-toy trucks and SUVs that are rolling tanks that can obliterate any person that dares get in their way? How do you stop people from buying huge, inefficient vehicles in general,” Hannon said.

An Unsafe Infrastructure?

There are a number of contributing factors to the deaths of cyclists and pedestrians. Some, like operating a bike/eBike in an unsafe manner or crossing streets in unmarked areas, are decisions that people make that could lead to tragic consequences. And yet some factors are a direct result of what each community will tolerate. For example, poorly guarded bike lanes or a lack of sidewalks, but users in harm’s way, even when they are attempting to do the right thing.

Hannon suggested “We could make dedicated ‘bike thoroughfares’ that cross both north to south and east to west. And we can keep cars to other arterial routes.” He also suggested that cities can “Make more routes where the bike lanes are physically protected from the car traffic. Make more separate bike paths to nearby towns – east to Louisville and Lafayette and Erie – north to Lyons – south to Golden.” Hannon understands, though, that “This is heady stuff and realistically it takes a lot of planning and money.”

Prant said, “I think many of the communities are doing a good job, but many are not. But those are all local roads. I don’t think the state is doing that good a job. In many places, especially the more rural, but even in Boulder County, most roads are state roads. On state roads they don’t do protected bike lanes at all, speeds are too high, there are too many lanes and in many cases really crappy shoulders.”

If we make the roadways safer for cyclists and walkers, Hannon sees broader benefits. He said “We, long ago, made cars and gasoline the default way of getting around.  This needs to end and especially in the hearts of towns.  Make the city greener, quieter, less polluted, safer.  It can be done with enough political willpower.  Once you show people what’s possible, many more will become enamored and get on board.”

Changing transportation habits isn’t easy but for the safety of the community, residents still need to put in the hard work. Lewin “Addressing transportation safety is a complex, adaptive process with many inter-related parts and conditions that will continue to evolve; there is no one solution. The county will continue to approach safety with multiple tools and approaches with the goal of keeping people safe when traveling and creating a culture of safety in the community.”

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The post Red Roads appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Courtesy of City of Boulder and Community Cycles.

Editor’s Note: Press releases are provided to Yellow Scene Magazine. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

Register for Boulder’s 2024 Bike to Work Day and walk, bike or roll throughout the month

BOULDER, Colo. — June 1 kicks off a month-long celebration of walking, biking and rolling in Boulder! The City of Boulder, Community Cycles and local community partners are hosting dozens of events, including Boulder’s signature Walk and Bike to Work Day on Wednesday, June 26 with free breakfast stations across town.

Community members can pledge to ride on Bike to Work Day to be entered into prize giveaways and help the region measure the impact of biking, walking and rolling. The city invites the community to attend dozens of events from walking with dogs to bike maintenance workshops, with 2024 highlights including:

June 2: B360 & B180 Bike Around Boulder.

June 15: Bike Theft Awareness Expo.

June 18: Bike Show.

June 22: W360 Slow Marathon.

June 26: Walk and Bike to Work Day, the month’s main event.

“We encourage you to join your neighbors and community for another year of celebrating the many ways Boulder gets around town,” said City of Boulder Transportation and Mobility Director Natalie Stiffler.

“Boulder’s Walk and Bike Month is the largest in the country,” said Community Cycles Executive Director Sue Prant. “We are so fortunate to be able to celebrate walking, biking and rolling in Boulder with all the fantastic events planned throughout the month.”

View all events on the Walk and Bike Month website. Walk and Bike Month is statewide celebration, with local events supporting the city’s transportation strategy. Boulder Walk and Bike Month is supported by many generous nonprofit and corporate sponsors.

Community Cycles is a local nonprofit organization that provides access, education and advocacy to improve bicycling in Boulder. The city and Community Cycles work in partnership to coordinate Walk and Bike Month event activities.

The post Boulder Walk and Bike Month is Back this June appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Press Releases are provided to Yellow Scene. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

Boulder will celebrate Walk and Bike Month along with Bike to Work Day in June 2023, an annual schedule of events that celebrates walking and cycling throughout Boulder County.

This year’s theme for Walk and Bike Month is “Joyride”, which captures the sheer joy of riding a bike. “We’re enthusiastic about keeping the momentum of the joy of being outside going in 2023” said Sue Prant, Executive Director of Community Cycles, which coordinates the month-long schedule of festivities. “This year the B360 Bike Ride Around Boulder and the Boulder Bike Show will be their best since the pandemic put a damper on these events.”

Bike to Work Day on June 28, 2023, replete with more than 50 breakfast stations around Boulder, will serve free food and drink to the estimated 7,000 participants riding or walking to work, along with a bike home happy hour hosted at Boulder Junction. Please pledge to walk or bike to work on June 28!

Events to Note:

• June 4 – 360: Circle Boulder by Bicycle (Valmont Bike Park)
• June 11 – W360: Slow Marathon Walk Around Boulder (Four Mile Creek Trail Head)
• June 21 – Boulder Bike Show (Upslope Brewery)
• June 28 – Bike to Work Day (All around Boulder / Boulder County)
• June 28 – Bike Home Happy Hour (Boulder Junction)

It’s About More Than Riding a Bike or Taking a Walk

Swapping your car for a walk or bike trip is good for your physical and mental health, and for your wallet and the planet. We encourage you to give it a try this June!

Boulder’s celebration of walking, bicycling, and sustainable transportation is among the largest and longest-running Bike to Work Day events in the nation.

The post Walk and Bike Month Dates Announced: June 2023 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.