Any transportation funding measure should prioritize all Coloradans

There are three efforts underway to increase Colorado transportation funding in 2018. That’s good news! It means Colorado is getting serious about projects that can make our state healthier and improve living conditions for all Coloradans. But there’s more to the story, and it’s important to look deeper into where the funds allocated in each measure would go.

The three efforts underway are Senate Bill 001, House Bill 1340 and five potential ballot initiatives that were submitted by the Coloradans for Colorado Coalition, led by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. The legislative bills address one-time budget allocations as well as longer term funding solutions, while the ballot initiatives would raise the state sales tax by varied amounts and apply the revenue collected to transportation projects around the state. Learn more about each of the efforts by clicking on the toggles below.

For any of these efforts to be successful, they need to prioritize active and multimodal transportation projects, including bike lanes, sidewalks and transit. When we create a transportation system that prioritizes and moves people, not just cars, we make our state better for everyone who lives here.

The legislative session ends on May 9, and we’ll work tirelessly until the end of the session to make sure these efforts truly prioritize all Coloradans by including projects that work for all of us, not just drivers. And while we continue to work on these efforts, YOU can help by reaching out to your legislators and letting them know that prioritizing people matters to you. Visit our Action Center and get in touch with them today.

We support Colorado safety stop bill

YES on Senate Bill 144

The latest: Governor Hickelooper signed the bill into law on Wednesday, May 2! 

This bill, proposed in the Colorado legislature by Senator Kerr, provides common language for municipalities and counties to use should they choose to allow bicyclists to use the “safety stop.” The safety stop allows bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield and red lights as stop signs if the coast is clear.

It is commonly referred to as the Idaho stop, where a state law was first implemented in 1982. Various versions of the safety stop are already in place in several communities across Colorado. Having consistent language for all municipalities and counties to adopt would help motorists and bicyclists understand the law more easily and avoid confusion while traveling throughout the state.

As stated in the bill, safety stop ordinances and regulations would require cyclists to yield to all traffic in the intersection, including pedestrians. A study of Idaho’s law found no evidence of a long-term increase in injury or fatality rates and bicycle injury rates declined by 14.5 percent in the law’s first year.

Safety stop implementation can reduce conflicts on the roads and improve the flow of traffic by helping motorists not have to wait for a bicyclist to get moving again after a complete stop. While we continue to work toward more inclusive infrastructure for all people bicycling and walking, this is a step to help traffic move safely and efficiently within our current system.

Protect vulnerable road users

SB 18-140 doesn’t make it out of committee.

The latest: Senator Michael Merrifield introduced the bill on Monday, January 29. The bill died in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, February 14. 

Senate Bill 18-140 would have made careless driving that seriously harms or kills a vulnerable road user–including bicyclists, pedestrians, maintenance workers, those providing emergency services and more–a class 1 misdemeanor. It also would have required the driver at fault to attend driver improvement school and perform community service. Violators of the law would have been subject to license suspension on a case by case basis.

This law was especially important to protecting people who ride and walk in Colorado. Increased penalties for careless driving can help to deter unsafe behavior behind the wheel and make our roads safer for everyone. If it is reintroduced in the 2019 legislative session, we look forward to supporting it. 

Automated enforcement keeps bicyclists safe

House Bill 18-1072 doesn’t make it out of committee.

The latest: The bill died in the House Transportation and Energy Committee on Wednesday, February 14 by a vote of 8-4, with one represenative not present. We are excited that this bill did not make it out of committee.  

Join us in saying NO to House Bill 18-1072, which aims to dismantle automated enforcement legislation which keeps our most vulnerable users on the road safer.  

HB 1072 “repeals the authorization for the state, a county, a city and county, or a municipality to use automated vehicle identification systems (including red light cameras) to identify violators of traffic regulations and issue citations based on photographic evidence and creates a prohibition on such activity. The bill repeals the authorization for the department of public safety to use an automated vehicle identification system to detect speeding violations within a highway maintenance, repair, or construction zone.”

When properly initiated, automated photo radar systems and red light cameras are effective traffic-calming measures. Studies show that the severity of a crash is directly correlated to speed, and this is even more true for vulnerable road users such as bicyclists and pedestrians–the faster an automobile is traveling, the more severe the crash. This can be deadly for those who bike and walk.

We believe that automated enforcement efforts are an important initiative in slowing traffic and increasing safety for all road users. Though it can’t prevent all crashes from occurring, it can reduce their severity and protect vulnerable road users. That’s why we are firmly against HB 1072. We hope you’ll voice your concerns to your representatives.

Bicycle Colorado supports continued lottery funds for trails

YES on SB 18-066

The latest: SB 66 heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee after passing both the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources, & Energy unanimously. 

We want to see funds from the Colorado Lottery Division reauthorized for parks, trails, open spaces, rivers and more.

Since 1992, Colorado has invested more than $3 billion in projects across Colorado made possible by lottery funds, but it might surprise you to hear that the Colorado Lottery was initially approved as a temporary program by voters in 1980. Senate Bill 66 aims to change that and install the lottery as a permanent Colorado Program. We want to make sure that Colorado’s natural spaces get the funding they deserve so that bicyclists, runners, walkers and all other outdoor enthusiasts can embrace and enjoy all that Colorado has to offer. We support SB 66, and hope you will as well. 

Support tougher distracted driving bill

YES on SB 18-049

The latest: The bill was voted down in the State, Veterans and Military Affairs committee on Wednesday, January 24. It did not pass. 

Bicycle Colorado is proud to support Senate Bill 18-049, aimed at decreasing distracted driving throughout Colorado. Addressing this issue is critical to improving the safety of our roads for all users. We need your help!

This issue and bill relate directly to Coloradans’ health and safety. Data from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) indicates that 620 people died on Colorado roads in 2017 alone, the highest figure in more than a decade. Moreover, between 2012 and 2016, approximately 57,300 distracted-driving crashes occurred with an average of 40 distracted-distracted driving crashes occurring daily in 2016. Forty per day.

Current law prohibits the use of cellular phones while driving only for individuals who are under 18. Senate bill 18-049:

• Extends the prohibition to drivers of all ages;

• Increases the penalty for minor drivers from $50 per violation to $300 per violation, to match the penalty that currently applies to adult drivers;

• Extends the existing prohibition of the use of wireless telephones to include all mobile electronic devices; and

• Creates an exception to the prohibition of the use of mobile electronic devices for adult drivers who use a mobile electronic device through the use of a hands-free device.

We believe SB 18-049 is critical to improving the safety of all road users, especially vulnerable users such as bicyclists and pedestrians, and we are committed to seeing it pass through the legislature. The bill will go before the State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee on January 24. The message for members of the Committee is one of public safety benefits. Please reach out and let them know that this bill is critical to addressing our state’s rising crash / fatality rates but more so, ensuring the safety of Coloradans and visitors who travel on our state’s roads.

Support a state transportation funding measure that includes dedicated bike/walk funding

STATUS: The bill passed the house on March 31 and is being considered by the senate. This page will have updates as new calls to action arise. Thank you for following this. 

Bicycle Colorado has been working with a multimodal coalition to ensure any proposed new state transportation revenue includes designated funds for walking, biking and transit. Those efforts paid off last week when House Bill 17-1242 was introduced with bipartisan support to increase annual transportation funding by $625 million including $100 million each year for bicycling, walking and transit.

Colorado has significant multimodal needs, including over $330 million of unfunded bicycle and pedestrian projects currently identified by local communities. Addressing these needs is critical to improve the safety and efficiency of our transportation system and provide the options we need to keep Colorado moving forward.

While HB 17-1242 will not meet all the active transportation needs in our state, Bicycle Colorado appreciates the bipartisan effort from the bill sponsors to bring diverse views and needs together into one proposal. We believe HB 17-1242 is an acceptable compromise investment in Colorado’s multimodal needs and we are committed to seeing it pass through the Legislature and be approved by voters in November.

Support license suspension for hit-and-run suspects

STATUS: The bill was introduced and will be heard first by the House Transportation Committee 

Hit-and-run legislation, HB 1277, was recently brought forward by Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush and Sen. Beth Martinez Humenik. The bill–Driver’s License Suspension Leaving Accident Scene–would immediately suspend the license of a driver who is suspected of a hit-and-run crash involving serious bodily injury or death, getting dangerous drivers off the road as soon as a summons or arrest is made. Hit-and-run crashes disproportionately affect children and adults who walk or ride bicycles, and the number of such crashes is on the rise.

Please contact your state legislator today and ask them to support this bill. Something needs to be done to make a hit-and-run a more serious offense.

2018 issues no longer under consideration

The following two issues either passed or failed in the legislature. We left them up so you can see what we have been working on and learn about each issue. Our work is not done.

THANK YOU to everyone who contacted their elected officials regarding one or more of these issues. Even though two were unsuccessful, the groundswell of constituent emails and phone calls will help us when we bring up these issues again. The more bicycle enthusiasts can show a unified, strong and vocal front, the more successful we will be in the future.

Support higher penalties for texting while driving

STATUS: SB17-027 passed! It is now before the governor to hopefully be signed into law.  

Senator Lois Court and Representative Jovan Melton have introduced legislation to increase Colorado’s penalties for texting while driving. Currently, the fine for texting while driving is $50 and one point assessed against the violator’s driver’s license for a first offense, and a $100 fine and one point assessed against the violator’s driver’s license for a second or subsequent offense. SB-27 increases the penalty to a $500 fine and five points for a first offense and a $750 fine and six points for a second or subsequent offense.

Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of traffic injuries and fatalities. In 2009, Colorado passed legislation outlawing texting while driving in response to a distracted driver who tragically killed a Fort Collins girl who was riding her bike.

Unfortunately, the existing penalties for a behavior that can have such high consequences do not seem to be much of a deterrent. Colorado has some of the lowest texting while driving fines in the U.S. Deaths on Colorado’s roadways jumped about 11 percent in 2016 to 605, a total that includes a 15-year-high number of pedestrians (84) and bicyclists (16) killed. In January, Colorado Department of Transportation executive director Shailen Bhatt blamed the surge in crashes on an “epidemic of distracted driving” (Denver Post).

ACT NOW! Click the red button to the left to quickly and easily speak up by emailing a message of support to your state representative.