#StreetFail: Denver Police Block Bike Lane in Front of City Hall
Here’s a #StreetFail that encapsulates one of the key obstacles to safe, bikeable streets in Denver. Drivers park in bike lanes all the time, and the people who are supposed to enforce the law do it too.
This Denver Police Department bus was parked on top of the bike lane directly across the street from City Hall last Thursday. The symbolism runs deep.
At the February press conference announcing the city’s commitment to Vision Zero, the goal of ending traffic deaths, Denver police chief Robert White wagged his fingers at pedestrians. As though the most vulnerable people on the street, not the ones piloting high-speed, multi-ton machines, are the ones responsible for everyone’s safety. (That was after one of his officers ushered me out of the way of a motorcycle cop driving on the sidewalk to the photo op.)
When top police officials and institutional culture don’t get what it takes to make streets safe for walking and biking, this is what you get — cops parked in bike lanes.
Got a picture of something that’s making Denver’s streets better? Worse? Share it on Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #SweetStreet or #StreetFail, and we may share it on the blog. You can email me as well.
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