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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE THE BEST PLACE TO RIDE A BIKE?

In 2015, Governor Hickenlooper announced the Colorado Pedals Project, a four-year initiative designed to make Colorado the best place to ride a bike. The initiative combines public and private funding to make Colorado achieve this goal. This transformative initiative will fuel Colorado’s economic growth and tourism industry, move us toward a cleaner environment and advance the goal of becoming the healthiest state in the nation.

The Pedals Project and its efforts are housed within and coordinated and tracked by Bicycle Colorado.

How do we become the best place to ride?

Riding a bike is core to Colorado’s identity and part of our well-known active lifestyle. Because of that, we are redefining what it means to be the best place to ride a bike. The ranking can be measured by traditional methods such as the annual League of American Bicyclists survey. The Pedals Project is going far beyond that, leveraging Colorado’s unique assets, demonstrating innovation across state agencies and institutions, and setting new standards for others to follow. Bicycle Colorado is helping to engage and drive the bicycling conversation across a wide variety of partners, from government agencies to advocacy groups.

Colorado is ahead of the national average in spending, safety and ridership, but we’ve got a ways to go.

In the League of American Bicyclists’ 2018 progress report, Colorado ranked as the sixth most bicycle-friendly state. While sixth might sound good, we know we can do better. From 2007-17, Colorado experienced one of the sharpest decreases in people riding to work on their bicycles, and has continued to see threats to people riding their bikes.

Pedals Project Focus Areas

COMPLETE OUR STREETS

 

IMPROVE HEALTH & SAFETY

 

FUND ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

 

EXPAND PARTICIPATION

 

ELEVATE BICYCLING & WALKING

 

STATEWIDE IMPACT

Check out this interactive map of where and how Bicycle Colorado is making a difference.

Economic and Health Benefits of Bicycling and Walking Study (2016)

This comprehensive study reveals the who, what, where, how and why of bicycling, walking and health in the state of Colorado. It is a first of its kind and could set a national standard for gathering and legitimizing such data. The results show that a majority of people in Colorado own a bicycle and they are getting out and using it, which makes our work at Bicycle Colorado all the more vital. Bicycling substantially supports our local businesses, attracts jobs and tourists to the state and makes communities more livable.

Riding a bicycle is not only core to Colorado’s identity. Bicycling contributed $1.6 billion in economic and health benefits to the state’s economy in 2015.

Questions?

Within Bicycle Colorado, the Pedals Project is led by our policy team. Reach out to Piep van Heuven if you have questions or are interested in partnering on this project.

Partners

The Colorado Pedals Project would not be possible without the cooperation, assistance and partnership of these groups:

Bicycle Colorado
@BicycleColo

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  • Bicycle Colorado has been proud to offer a variety of bike clinics this season to give riders new skills and confidence. Thanks to Nicole from the Amy D. Foundation for leading the Women’s Gravel Clinic.
  • After multiple attempts since 2018, on the final day of the session, the Colorado Legislature passed SB24-065, also known as the distracted driving bill.
  • Mark your calendars … @VeloSwap is back! #VeloSwap Tickets and booth space are now available for the November 2nd event. Link in bio. #BikeExpo #Denver