DENVER (KDVR) — Deadly car crashes and those with serious injuries are up in Colorado and Denver, but there is a piece of positive growth on the side. The capital city’s plan to protect bicyclists with hundreds of miles of their own special lanes seems to be working.
Bicycle-related crashes in Denver are at their second-lowest levels in the last ten years, according to traffic accident records kept by the Denver Police Department.
This trend has been years in the making. Bicycle-related crashes in Denver reached their highest levels in 2015 and in 2018. After 2018, the annual number has fallen. The last three years were the three lowest in the last ten years.
Denver had the fewest bicycle-related crashes in a decade in 2021, with 161 throughout the year. They rose slightly in 2022, with 171.
Overall, the number of bicycle-related crashes has been falling since 2018. Between 2013 and 2018, there were an average 330 a bicycle-related crashes per year. Since 2019, the annual average is 202 a year, a 39% drop.
The monthly number of bicycle-related crashes peaked in May 2018, when there were 60.
Denver has been aggressive about dedicating more of its road space to bicyclists. The city launched a plan to build 125 new miles of bicycle paths in its city by 2024, over a hundred of which have been completed.