Welcome to the Bike Denver Initiative!

We’re working to make Denver a benchmark city for riding a bike, in Colorado and around the nation. We believe that when Denver leads the way on bicycle-friendly policy, planning, infrastructure and education, all of Colorado benefits. Through our Bike Denver Initiative, we’re making that a reality.

Eight new high-comfort bikeways coming to Denver streets

Get ready for eight new high-comfort bikeways funded by the 2017 Elevate Denver General Obligation (GO) Bond. Denver bike advocates fought hard to secure $18 million in the Bond for citywide bike lanes, and these projects are the first to roll out!

Now it is time to get involved and speak up to ask for a great protected bike lane design. Denver Public Works’ bike lane project planning teams will be taking your feedback—and the feedback of your neighbors—into consideration this April and May. It’s important that your voice is heard and that you ask for the highest level of protection and the design elements you want to see. With your help, we can make sure that concerns about parking don’t take precedence and water down the designs.

Quality protected bike lanes don’t happen by accident, they are created when people like you show up and speak up every step of the way.

High-comfort bikeway meeting schedule

The first round of public meetings regarding high-comfort bikeways have already taken place. The city plans to hold a second round of meetings for each project this fall. Check back for more information.

Green Valley Ranch
Bike facility: Green Valley Ranch Rd from Tower to Picadilly Rds
Meeting details: Wednesday, April 24, 5-7 p.m., Green Valley Ranch Recreation Center
Elyria-Swansea
Bike facility: Clayton St from 40th to 52nd Aves
Meeting details: Wednesday, May 1, 5-7 p.m., Swansea Rec Center
Wash Park
Bike facility: S. Marion St, E. Virginia to E. Bayaud Aves
Meeting details: Tuesday, May 14, 5-7 p.m., Wash Park Boathouse
Montbello
Bike facility: N. Crown Blvd from E. Albrook Dr to E. 56th Ave
Meeting details: Wednesday, May 15, 5-7 p.m., Montbello Rec Center
City Park
Bike facility: City Park Esplanade from 16th to 17th Aves
Meeting details: Tuesday, May 21, 5:30-7 p.m., Denver East High School
Hampden South
Bike facility: E. Princeton Ave from Eastmoor to Tamarac Drs
Meeting details: Wednesday, May 22, 5:30-7 p.m., Southmoor Elementary School
Stapleton
Bike facility: Central Park Blvd from Montview Blvd to 36th Ave
Meeting details: Wednesday, May 29, 5-7 p.m., Central Park Rec Center
Jefferson Park
Bike facility: W. 23rd Ave from Speer to Federal Blvds
Meeting details: Thursday, May 30, 5-7 p.m., Denver Elks Lodge

For the most up-to-date information, click here.

Creating a bikeable, walkable Denver through the Denver Streets Partnership

Bicycle Colorado formed and leads the Denver Streets Partnership (DSP), a group of nonprofit organizations advocating to fund, build and maintain a complete, active transportation system. Denver’s infrastructure to walk and bike safely has been neglected for years. Though funding has significantly increased in the past two years, it will still take more than 100 years to build complete sidewalk and bike lane networks.

The problem

Denver’s infrastructure to walk and bike safely has been underfunded for years. At current funding levels it would take more than 100 years to build complete sidewalk and bike lane networks.
Many people have no choice but to drive. They do not have a safe walking or biking route or access to transit to and from their work, school, park, or local store.
More and more people are moving to Denver every day and the number of people who drive alone is among the highest in the nation. Transportation issues are the #1 concern for Denver residents.

The solution

Investing $40 million a year into building and maintaining our walking and biking networks. This will bring Denver on par with other major U.S. cities and create the options people want to get around safely.

The benefits

Access to amenities, services and opportunities
Better individual and community health
Stronger local and household economies
Improved air quality
Sustainable lifestyle options

Learn about the city's 2019-20 budget

Upcoming projects

Ride on the Active Bike Corridors

We want to make commuting in the Denver area as easy as can be. Our new Active Bike Corridor (ABC) program aims to increase rides into and around Denver using six key bike corridors and a whole lot of local partners and community engagement to get more people out riding more often. Routes were sourced to activate communities surrounding the city core with input from Denver Regional Council of Government (DRCOG), Strava and Denver Public Works, and it is made possible with Transportation Demand Management Set-aside funding.

Enjoy Friday group commuter rides, family and youth rides and classes in confident commuting, basic bike maintenance and more. Contact lead educator Chris Winn at chris@bicyclecolorado.org to start your adventure!

Implementing our new Navigator Program

Our new navigator program, led by mobility program director James Waddell, connects new riders to more experienced bike commuters around central Denver. You can think of it as a “bike-hailing” service for people interested in riding but who’d like an assist in getting started.

Once the program has launched, people who want to ride more can request a navigator to show up and help them take a local bike trip – to work or school, park or grocery store! The navigator program is made possible with Transportation Demand Management Set-aside funding.

Want to learn more? Email mobility program director James Waddell at james@bicyclecolorado.org.

Where are bike lanes coming next?

In addition to the bond-funded protected bike lanes we mentioned above, Denver Public Works has a slate of 9 bike lanes they’ll roll out this year to add 16 new miles of lanes. Highlights include the W. 35th and Knox Court neighborhood bikeways that will give a good advance look at Denver’s planned neighborhood bikeway designs, and new buffered lanes on Martin Luther King and Syracuse.

Click to enlarge.

Get up to date information here, and check out neighborhood bikeway elements here.

Expanding the Broadway bike lane

We’ve been involved in supporting the Broadway two-way protected lane since 2015, when Denver began planning a pilot project along a six block stretch.

How? We organized partners to participate in a “Bikes on Broadway” (now “Better Broadway”) campaign to support the pilot project during its study period, and worked to educate business owners, media and the general public about the benefits of protected bike lanes on arterials. Now, Colorado’s first multi-block, two-way bike lane is expanding and is currently being designed to stretch from I-25 to the Cherry Creek Trail. Plan to come out and ride it as early as 2020!

But wait, there’s more!

Making sure the city knows about all the #ThingsInTheBikeLane

In March 2018, we launched Things in the Bike Lane, a collaborative effort with BikeDenver to raise public awareness about regular safety issues within bike lanes in Denver.

The campaign, which crowdsourced documentation of bike lane obstructions, ran through early 2019. In that time, more than 2,000 submissions were published to www.thingsinbikelanesdenver.com, ranging from portapotties to plastic cups to potholes to, you guessed it, cars and delivery trucks. We even did a little holiday song about it. The city responded by dedicating its first-ever right of way enforcement officers to solely monitor bike lanes.

We continue to work on this issue with city officials. In the mean time, if you spot anything in Denver’s bike lanes, please contact Denver Public Works directly to make them aware of the issue by dialing 720-913-1600 or 311.

Press coverage of Things in the Bike Lane

Resources to get around Denver

Question about what you can and can’t do on a bicycle? You can check out Colorado’s Rules of the Road here.

Use the Denver Bike Map if you need help getting from A to B, and check out The Hub for a community-sourced resource for bicycle amenities near you.

Want a short-term bike rental? Check out:

Denver B-Cycle
JUMP Bikes
Denver also has a number of scooter companies offering rentals. Check out the Scooter Life App developed by a Bicycle Colorado member to see if there’s one near you!

In the press

Denver Public Works is cooking up eight high-comfort, low-stress bike lanes – Denverite
Denver Will Add 17 Miles of New Bike Lanes This Year. Here’s Where. – Streetsblog Denver
Mayor Michael Hancock pitches November vote on new Denver department promoting “transportation equity” – Denver Post
Denver puts on its big-city pants, announces a transportation department that could supplement RTD – Denverite
Denver Finalizing Blueprints for Future of Transportation, Housing and Parks; Asks for Your Input – Streetsblog Denver
Electric Scooters Are Leaving Denver Sidewalks – 5280
How to alleviate Denver’s growing conflict between bikes, scooters, pedestrians and cars – Denver Post
Denver trails behind in the race for people-powered transportation – Confluence Denver
Advocates say pedestrians and cyclists face a “public health crisis” in Denver, call for better infrastructure – Denverite
Denver Transportation Gets a $430 Million Funding Boost – Next City
Don Hunt Throws Walking, Biking, and Transit Under the Single Occupancy Vehicle – Streetsblog Denver

Bicycle Colorado

@BicycleColo

Our twitter feed is unavailable right now. Follow us on Twitter

The Latest News

view all

Sep 5, 2025
by Bicycle Colorado

Ride the Legend: Tour of the Moon & American Flyers 40th Anniversary

The Tour of the Moon on September 13, 2025, showcases the Colorado National Monument and exemplifies the best of road cycling in the American West. Tour of the Moon was made famous in the 1980’s Coors Classic and later in the cycling movie American Flyers. This year offers a unique opportunity to…

Get Your Gear Up! Tickets