Black Hawk's Board of Aldermen has approved an ordinance banning bicycle riding on almost every street in Black Hawk. This includes the only paved street (Gregory Street-formerly State Highway 279) connecting the Peak to Peak Highway with the Central City Parkway.
Black Hawk police are now issuing a ticket to anyone "caught riding" through town.
Black Hawk Police Chief Cole confirmed to Bicycle Colorado that there were no bicycle fatalities that preceded the ban. In fact neither the City Manager nor Police Chief could recall any car/bike crashes. Yet in a media interview, the Manager said that the ban was put in place "...to promote safety."
Given the disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico, one can't imagine why a town would discourage cycling at this time.
Feel free to Email or Call the Black Hawk City Council at
CityClerk@CityofBlackHawk.org Council phone: 303-582-2212
More information: http://bicyclecolo.org/articles/black-hawk-bike-ban-pg1118.htm
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DENVER - More than 100 bicyclists from across Colorado gathered at the State Capitol Tuesday evening to protest the city of Black Hawk's bike ban.
Bicycle Colorado sponsored Tuesday evening's protest. State Senators Greg Brophy (R-Wray) and Chris Romer (D-Denver) spoke out at the protest and threatened to file a lawsuit against Black Hawk if the ban was not overturned.
Good to see some bipartisan support for overturning this stupid ban.
If you haven't been to the town, then get there and see for yourself.
I agree that they need to come together as a community and figure something out, but making blanket statements if you haven't been there and seen the traffic issues, complicated by crowds of pedestrians at some times, isn't helpful. the town isn't laid out on a flat grid like in the flatlands. It's a mountain town, and to close off streets would impede flow to the town hall, to needed services, and not just to casinos. Workers have to travel in by the "main drag" from nearby mountain communities. Your idea of closing the streets might work if this were out in the flats. But it's not. Again, get the facts about the town before you pontificate. At least I've been there and can testify to the issues. Again, I also don't like the rule, but at least I can speak from experience going through the town. Can you?
This town has very narrow streets in places. In the wintertime there's nowhere to plow the snow, so it piles up on the sides. In the summer, well, see what I wrote above.
I'm a bicyclist and hate to see this happen, but I understand the safety issue they are worried about. Yes, they haven't had an accident before, but they've just been damned lucky there. So, before you mouth off about how hateful and backwoods the place is, think about whether or not there might be a reason for the ban. And again, they aren't banning bikes. They're banning riding in certain areas. If you're gonna slam a place for its actions, get the whole story.
DJT
This is a slippery slope and cyclists cannot let this stand.
Dear City Council of Black Hawk,
Can it possibly be true that you voted in an ordinance to prevent people form using bikes in town?
If yes, that's a more than a bit ill advised. Peak oil is either upon us now or coming to hit hard in 2-5 years according the increasingly high-level sources like the US Military and the EIA. Below are some synopses of much information.
By banning bike riding now, or worse, failing to promote a bike culture with useful pathways in coming months, you would seem to be condemning your town to economic weakness.
Please read up and reconsider.
With Respect,
Anne Butterfield
Boulder CO
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/11/peak-oil-production-supply
and
http://climateprogress.org/2010/05/15/peak-oil/
and
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-butterfield/our-oil-addiction-collidi_b_578022.html
http://www.dot.state.co.us/
Sounds like the guys running Black Hawk are the same crotchity old guys who shake their fists at people legally and safely operating their bicycled and tell them to GET OUTA TRAFFIC!
(My response: "I AM TRAFFIC!")