DENVER —Bicyclists from across the Front Range will rally in Denver on Wednesday in an effort bring awareness to recent cycling deaths.
In the month of July alone, 4 cyclists were killed along the Front Range; including two from Denver.
“There are dangers as we’ve discovered in the past couple of weeks,” said Brad Evans, founder and leader of the Denver Cruiser Ride. “It’s been a painful couple of weeks”.
On Wednesday, Evans, as well as hundreds (if not thousands) of other cyclists will take part in a special cruiser ride dedicated to two of the victims: Scott Hendrickson and Alexis Bounds.
“It hits home with Scott because he was a regular rider and a close friend,” Evans said.
Evans believes there’s a huge problem in Denver when it comes to accommodating cyclists. He said it’s a three-way street between bicyclists, motorists and infrastructure.
“Everybody bares a piece of that responsibility,” he explained. “I think all of these could’ve been prevented with safe bicycle infrastructure”.
The city of Denver is spending about $7 million this year alone on new bike infrastructure and it also set aside $18 million for it with 2017 bonds.
On Tuesday afternoon, Denver Public Works tweeted: “This fall, we’ll be re-evaluating our Denver Moves: Bikes plan in that area of the city for new potential bike corridors”.
Still, Evans believes more needs to be done.
“Other cities have done it, so can we,” he added.
The rally will take place Wednesday at 7pm during the Denver Cruiser Ride which starts at The Gin Mill on Larimer Street in Lower Downtown Denver.
Another rally is expected later in the week.