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Local bicycle advocacy groups and the Denver Police Department have teamed together in an effort to smooth tensions between cyclists and motorists.

DPD officers and bicycle advocates will be handing out informational cards to bicyclists today as part of Bike to Work Day, the annual event that aims to encourage commuting by bicycle. The spoke cards —which feature rules of the roads like “take your place in traffic” and “obey stop signs, traffic signs and stop lights” — aim to increase awareness about bicycle laws. 

“Our hope is that by working together with these groups that we can message the word to cyclists throughout the city and ask that they police themselves and that they pass the word and share these cards with one another so that everybody rides responsibly,” said Lt. Catherine L. Davis.

DPD received a large number of complaints from Denverites in the downtown and Capitol Hill areas saying that cyclists were not obeying the rules of the road, according to Davis. During an enforcement campaign by DPD that tried to cut down on cyclists running red lights, riding on sidewalks and the 16th Street Mall — all of which are illegal — the police department met and teamed up with groups like Bicycle Colorado, the Human Powered Transit Authority and Bike Denver to try to address the problem.

Brad Evans of the Human Powered Transit Authority said he has been impressed with DPD’s recent attitude towards bicyclists. He said that there are no easy answers to improving relations between cyclists and motorists, but called the spoke cards a good first step towards educating people.

“This is a great example of changing police enforcement to an education program instead of a crackdown,” he said. “It’s a great way to get cyclists and the police department to work together to understand what the rules of the road are.”

More cyclists

Almost 36,000 people participated in Bike to Work Day last year, an increase of 61 percent form the year before.

While lawmakers have applauded the increase in the number of cyclists in Denver — Mayor John Hickenlooper said “bike commuting is just plain fun” and Rep. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood, said “if you ride your bike, it is healthy for you and healthy for the community” — more cyclists means more possible tension between people on bicycles and people in cars.

Davis said she does “think there is some ignorance of the law that pertains to bicyclists,” and that bringing attention to the rules will hopefully change that.

Meanwhile, bicycle advocates pointed out that it’s only a small percentage of bicyclists who break the law and that motorists are often at as much fault as anyone else. Scott Christopher of Bicycle Colorado said he believes that all motorists have become more aggressive and less friendly in recent years, a trend that he hopes will change going forward.

“If everyone would take a moment to be a little more courteous out there, just pause for a moment, make sure that they are being safe on the roadways and give room to all other roadway users … I think it would be safer for everyone,” he said.

More space for cyclists

A bill that was signed into law in May looks to make courteousness between motorists and cyclists a rule. Senate Bill 148 requires drivers to give cyclists 3 feet of clearance when passing them. The law, which will take effect Aug. 5, also includes an anti-harassment component, which sets a class 2 misdemeanor for anyone who throws an object at a cyclist.

“It’s good for everybody on the road,” said Dan Grunig, executive director of Bicycle Colorado. “It brings a lot of common sense share-the-road practices into law.”  

Unenforceable?

However, Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderson has raised concerns over enforcement of the law. He said it would be impossible for police officers to determine what is exactly 3 feet of space between a car and a bicycle. 

“The 3-foot rule is a nice touchy-feely feel good piece of legislation that’s going to be impossible to enforce,” said Alderden. “The principle is sound — people should stay 3 feet away — but the enforcement is going to be problematic.”

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