More Bikes Colorado

While there are many reasons to reduce the use of private vehicles (e.g., traffic fatalities, expense, accessibility, air quality), in this post I will focus on climate change. In the U.S., 27% of GHG emissions come from the transportation sector, and the largest contributor within that category is cars, trucks, minivans, and SUVs ( EPA ). If SUVs were a country, they would be the 7th largest GHG emitter ( The Guardian ). Climate change is projected to kill many people through heat, drought, flooding, disease and famine. The WHO has called climate change "the biggest health threat facing humanity" and projects 250,000 additional deaths per year due to malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress from 2030 - 2050 due to climate change ( WHO ). Another study projected 83 million excess heat-related climate change deaths (or approx. 1 million per year) from 2020 - 2100 under baseline emissions ( Bressler, 2021 ). The Bressler study projects more deaths than the WHO, which is...

Good news, Colorado - all Regional Transportation District (RTD) buses and trains are free for the whole month of August 2022. Many other transit agencies in the state are also free. Here are the top 10 reasons you should ride transit instead of driving: Improve the air quality. Every summer, ozone levels get to unhealthy levels along the Front Range. According to the EPA, “ozone can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath, and throat irritation. It may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma as well as compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections.”  One of the sources of ozone is emissions from cars and trucks, which interact with heat and UV to become ozone. In fact, the main goal of the RTD program is to improve air quality, which is why it is called “Zero Fare for Better Air.” Save yourself some money . Gas is nearly five dollars per gallon, and that’s only a small part of the cost of owning and operating a private vehicle. The IRS ...

Walkable neighborhoods offer many benefits. Individuals living in walkable areas generate  lower carbon emissions and have better health. They are less lonely and more likely to make friends as adults, since chance encounters are more common on a sidewalk or at a local park or store than in car-dependent places. Walkable neighborhoods offer more freedom for people who are too young, too old, or otherwise incapable of driving. They also benefit the city. Dense, walkable areas provide more taxes into the city coffers than they consume, unlike car-dependent places. I live in a neighborhood that could be very walkable and rollable. Almost everything I need on a day-to-day basis is nearby.  Within a quarter mile I have a grocery store, two parks, and many restaurants. My gym, local library, and my partner’s house are within a half a mile. I also live close to bus stops, light rail stations, and a quiet bike path that leads downtown to the east and to my office to the west. Fig 1: ...

Do you love skiing but hate I-70 ski traffic? RTD’s Snowstang bus is the solution. It runs from Denver’s Union Station and Lakewood’s Federal Center Park and Ride (11601 W 2nd Pl, Lakewood, CO 80401) to four ski areas: Copper Mountain, Loveland, Arapahoe Basin, and Steamboat. It only costs $25 round trip to each mountain, except Steamboat, which costs $40. The schedule and tickets are available here: https://ridebustang.com/snowstang/ Last winter I rode to Copper Mountain and Arapahoe Basin and was impressed with the experience both times. The bus has storage for skis and gear underneath, free (albeit slow) wifi, and a little bathroom in the back. You can leave your stuff safely on the bus during your ski day because the same one goes back at the end of the day. Everything was comfortable and modern. Above all, it was refreshing not to have to worry about driving, and it freed up time and mental energy for other things. I slept and read on the way up. My friends and I had a drink on th...

Our society is facing many problems: expensive (yet crumbling) infrastructure, traffic fatalities, environmental degradation, homelessness and a housing crisis, unaffordable transportation, oil and gas strongmen that start wars (e.g. Putin), reduced life expectancy, poor mental health, loneliness, racism, and inequality. I believe that our cities and towns can be built better, more economically, and in a way that reduces many of these problems. I believe that supporting transit, pedestrians, and bikes leads to a win-win situation that saves money, improves safety and health, and reduces environmental problems. This blog will focus on transportation, primarily in Colorado, but I may go into economics, the environment, urban planning, and housing. I hold a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder.  Affiliate Link Donation to Bicycle Colorado If you want an e-bike, I’ve been very happy with my Ride1Up Roadster V2. Please use this link to purchase any Ride1Up b...