Want more and better options for bicycling? Want the communities where you live and work to have safer roads? Join us at the state capitol on Monday, March 4 to lobby for better bicycling. Safe Streets Day at the Capitol is the perfect time to show up and speak up about what is important to you. Do it for yourself, your kids, your riding buddies and individuals who can’t be there. The event is brief—from 8 to 11 a.m—and free registration includes coffee, tea, and light breakfast.

Your personal stories make a significant difference, bolster our advocacy efforts and help amplify our collective voice as bicycle riders in Colorado. Your legislators want to hear from YOU.

What to expect

Safe Streets Day makes it easy for you to be part of democracy in action. We’ll do everything we can to make you feel empowered to lend your personal voice to bicycling issues facing your community and our state. Our briefing will include:

• How does a bill even come to be? How does a bill become a law?
• Where the bike-friendly bills are in the legislative process
• Coaching to get the most out of your chats with legislators
• Q&A
  

We’ll host a light breakfast with coffee and tea, encouraging legislators and their aides to come by, grab a bite, and briefly meet with any of their constituents attending. There is no schedule and no appointments; think of it as a “meet and greet” with your policymakers. You may only get a few minutes with your legislators. But the most important piece to share is your own personal passion for better bicycling, walking and safer streets!

Elected officials generally take seriously the concerns expressed in person by those they directly represent. When meeting with your legislators, be sure to share that you live and/or work in their district and that you vote! (Update your voter registration or register to vote at GoVoteColorado.com.)

Our goal is to meet with as many state legislators and their aides as we can to express the importance of bicycling and improving access and safety. Schedules shift quickly at the Capitol, so we ask legislators to step out of the Senate Chamber or House Chamber to meet with our attendees. Even if you don’t get to meet with your legislators directly, your presence as part of the bicycling movement still makes a big difference—strength in numbers is important! Also, legislative aides often help drive policy by acting as experts on various topics, so speaking with and educating aides is just as valuable.

What’s at stake

This legislative session is an important one for bicycling and safer streets throughout Colorado. As with all political movements, the stronger our collective voice, the better. 

Bicycle Colorado will support, monitor, and oppose bills during the 2024 legislative session. We take positions based on meetings with members and other key stakeholder groups and our vision that all people and communities benefit from safe and accessible bicycling. Our top priority is to pass these three bills:

• SB24-065 Mobile Electronic Devices & Motor Vehicle Driving, a bill to combat distracted driving (fact sheet)
• SB24-036 Vulnerable Road User Protection Enterprise, a bill to generate $18 million in funds annually to build bike and pedestrian infrastructure (fact sheet)
• HB24-1021 Motor Vehicle Minor Driver Education Standards, a bill to better train young drivers (fact sheet)

Learn more about these bills

Safe Streets Day at the Capitol is a unique, educational and powerful experience. Take your passion for bicycling to the next level, see how easy it is to be an advocate and meet like-minded people. We hope to see you there.