DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and his administration rolled up their sleeves and put up a few more bicycle signs today in north Denver. They were celebrating a major bicycle milestone.
“My administration ushered in the bike revolution in Denver. We didn’t have bike lanes before I became mayor,“ said Hancock.
We do now.
According to Hancock, Denver installed 137 miles of new bike lanes in five years. This surpassed the original goal of 125 miles set by the mayor in 2018. But according to Hancock, it is just the beginning.
“It’s the only option. I don’t think we have the old single mode of transportation system in Denver. It no longer applies. We have grown exponentially over the last decade,“ said Hancock.
Of the 137 miles of new bike lanes installed by the city, it breaks down like this:
- 24 miles for bike lanes.
- 45 miles are buffered bike lanes.
- 23 miles are protected bike lanes.
- 34 miles are neighborhood bikeways.
- 11 miles are shared using paths and trails.
However, more bike lanes mean fewer parking spots downtown.
“We have got to prepare for multi-modalism in the city of Denver. And that means there is going to be less parking available because we have to use the lanes for folks to traverse the city via bikes, scooters and tuk-tuks,“ said Hancock.
Denver now has more than 433 miles of bikeways of which 300 are bikeways that are on the street.