Speeding on a bike path in Denver will now cost you

Pay heed all you urban commuters and those looking to ride at time trial speeds on Denver’s bike paths. The penalty for speeding will cost you $100…and that’s for the first offense. What are your thoughts?

From KDVR Fox 31
By Dara Bitler

Denver Park Rangers are stepping up efforts to catch people speeding on bike paths.

The speed limit in parks and bike paths is 15 miles per hour. Rangers using radar have clocked people well over that limit on a frequent basis.

“We try to suggest to people to get a speedometer, this way you know how fast you’re going. There are a lot of apps that you can download for free or you can go buy one, all tools to make sure you are recreating safely in the park,” says Denver Park Ranger, Jodie Ehrich.

A ticket for the first offense will cost you $100.00. Repeated violations get more expensive and you could also end up being evicted from parks if busted several times.

Read the original article here

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32 Comments

  1. Kevin

    OK – I get that the bone-heads, hanging out on the TT bars (away from the brakes) and hauling around Wash Park at 20+ mph on a Sunday afternoon need to get a healthy dose of ‘knock it off’ and $100 seems like a solid enough deterrent;

    But – a blanket enforcement of an arbitrary 15 mph speed limit on all bike paths is a joke disconnected from all reality. Speed limits should be zoned just as for motor vehicle traffic.

    Or… fine – If I have to stay under 15 mph on the Platte river path commuting from Riverpointe to downtown in the morning and evening, then it seems fair that cars on all surface roads should have to stay below the same (15 mph) for the following reasons:

    1. The number of pedestrian / vulnerable road users hurt and killed by cars is astronomically higher than those hurt or killed by cyclists.

    2. The energy (i.e. destructive power) of a car going 25 mph is about the same as a cyclist going something like 500 mph (last time I checked my high school physics book).

    Just another example of how uneducated authorities dis-proportionally villainize, legislate and police cyclists as opposed to motorists in a way that has nothing to do with the harm each group does (statistically) or could potentially do (rationale thought and physics) to other road / trail users.

    Here’s a thought – spend my tax dollars to go after the real threats to humanity.

    • Big John

      Police are a bunch of sexual deviants waiting to pounce on there next victim n violate someone’s titts my neighbor Suzy got her titts wrongly handled by the so called law man

  2. Dave

    what a bunch of D.Heads

  3. Say NO to stupid enforcement

    If you aren’t in a car, catch me…

    • Larry

      Considering the history of Denver PD, they’ll just shoot you and say they feared for their lives.

  4. John

    I beat a ticket in court in Florida. Asked to see the calibration for the radar on carbon fiber bicycles… Judge laughed and dismissed case.

    • Kevin Sheen

      That’s awesome!

  5. Dennis

    I have said for 3 years, cops pick on cyclists because we are easy targets. Some people need to get a real job.

  6. Trisha Tate

    This has nothing to do with safety, and everything to do with another way to generate revenue.

  7. Dennis Lilly

    Nothing like arbitrarily enforced laws to generate revenue for the state. Just wait until you have to pay license and regestration fees for your bicycle. But wait, there’s more! Along with that comes mandatory insurance. It might not happen tomorrow, but it’s coming.
    How you like your big government now?

  8. AustinBikepacker

    Barney will be waiting at the bottom of a hill with his super-turbo-Ebike. This is a silly waste of resources.

  9. Shane

    Yes let’s decriminalize Hallucinogenic mushrooms and make safe injection sites, but let’s punish people being productive and ticket bicycles for speeding. Denver is crazy

  10. George

    As a former resident of Denver that rode most of those bike paths, I understand the need for some kind of control and limits. Some of the paths are popular walking and running paths as well. But as stated elsewhere, a blanket 15 mph in all circumstances seems a bit rigid. Adjust for the view plane and level of activity (e.g., 15 mph might even be fast, for the Cherry Creek path close to downtown, whereas 20 MPH would be just fine on stretches heading out towards Chatfield Reservoir). Frankly, I’d rather see tickets for no helmets than tickets for going 16 MPH.

  11. Robert Wegner

    How is the “Jimmy John’s” bike delivery guy going to make a living now? Politicians never think about the consequences of the laws they pass.

  12. Keith

    Funny how cyclists are disproportionately picked on, while I watch as rollerbladers and scooters consistently go over the speed limit in the park and on trails and are never hassled.

  13. Denver to DTC commuter

    How will they stop bicycle speeders? What if I don’t have my DL? Could I give them someone else’s name and address? During the summer months while commuting I have stayed off the bike path to reach higher speeds, but using a longer route that shared the road. I’ve put myself in danger to avoid the slower trail users, but really all this means is that a dedicated system for commuting is needed not enforcement.

  14. Ryan Wilson

    This is ludicrous, spedomiters are not mandated through any safety or regulatory industry for bicycles. Law enforcement is ticketing bycicalist for not following a speed limit for which they have no regulated way to mesure. Sure you can down load an app or buy a spedomiter but how accurate is it. Furthermore it is not mandated by law for bicycles to have spedomiters but yet they are getting ticketed when by industry standards and by the law have no way to monitor their rate of speed. What should change is make it no bycicle ridding in specific areas or make seprate pesdstrian and bycicle lanes or no foot traffic only bicycles in specific areas.

    • Robert

      Speedometer

  15. Fedup

    Another money grab. So sick of enforcement of these asinine laws, when we have daily break-ins, weekly shootings, and countless other crimes that actually cause harm. Denver need to get out of the meter maid/traffic cop business.

  16. Dear old Inc Dan

    Hahaha hahahaha… Fuuuhhhhck this

    • Aussi muter

      The essential issue is that path cyclists should be considerate to others. Most are. I make a point of talking to all those I pass when commuting and slowing down in congested areas. Speed enforcement won’t encourage good behavior. 15mph is just as dangerous as 25mph without discretion. Blanket speed limits are ignorant and will devalue the paths for many.

  17. colangelo

    Any chance that the speed limit was placed so that walkers can feel safer? I have seen plenty of a-holes who think they are in a crit race or a time trial with no regard for any pedestrians! How bout a little respect?!. Walkers have the right of way! Not even a bell or a whistle or a horn. And then there are recumbent bikers who take up the whole sidewalk and almost take off pedestrian toes with no regard for anything but their damn strava times. I say they should have bigger fines and further reduce the speed to 10 mph

    • Philo Beddoe

      Yeah, I say fuck the bikes that are speeding on walking paths. Go ride on the street. I’m a cyclist. If you want to haul ass do so in traffic. Cyclists are the most self-absorbed group out there. When I’m not on a bike it’s easy to see why everyone else sees them as a bunch of dick-heads.

  18. Larry Kiddey

    They did this because all you Denver folks inject the marijuanas.

  19. Speed Racer

    Drop a gear and disappear appear! Catch me if you can, which I doubt those doughnut eating fat bodies can! Challenge ACCEPTED!!!

  20. Lilli B.

    Do I need a bicycle operators permit now?
    Going 15mph or less will get you run over unless you are on the sidewalk.

    Did the oinks give up trying to catch cars?

    • Norman H

      The 15 mile per hour speed limit a trail speed limit. The speed limits on roads are as posted.

  21. Jim H

    This has little to do with public safety, and everything to do with creating a new branch of the city’s armed forces. Lived here a long time, never seen a single denver park guy stop a single crime or be there when someone was victimized, but the city has created this gigantic force basically to police the homeless population (go out at 4am to confluence park, usually do a lot of work there) but if all they do is police the homeless then they are being “underutilized” (i.e. they cant collect taxes from the homeless) but someone who can afford a bike, well, they are just asking for a new tax! And hey, next year, for their safety, they’ll be carrying guns and driving MRAP’s

  22. john gregory

    Fuck the police.

    Revenue generators is all they are! Enforcement of the law with no protection for the countries people.

    The Supreme Court has ruled on two seperate incidents that the police have NO DUTY TO PROTECT YOU.
    Their only job is to generate revenue.

    Fuck the police.
    And you wonder why no one respects ’em.

  23. Things that make you say duh

    I got a great business idea. Call a Chinese bike maker. Probably need to be an ebike so out of shape cops can have a good chase if rider is too fast. Need blue lights, probably a taser mounted to the bike steer or fork, what else will this cop bike need? Tax payers, it’s coming…now a new fleet of bicycle cops. Sign up at your local community college with an AAS bicycle law enforcement ??

  24. Tom Jones

    It’s amazing the amount of disrespect that cyclists are showing in the comments above. If you think a $100 ticket is steep see what happens when you try and run. It’s not that they try and catch you, they simply radio ahead.

    In terms of physics, if you hit a person going 15mph there is going to be serious damage to you both. And in case you haven’t noticed our recreation paths are getting increasingly crowded. Just b/c we cyclists refer to them as bike paths doesn’t mean the trails aren’t multi-use. Just b/c us cyclists feel safe buzzing by people at 15mph doesn’t mean we don’t scare the living bejeezus out of those being overtaken.

    Show a little respect and slow down when passing and maybe there won’t be a need for further rules or enforcement.

  25. Jim

    I just came across this article. I agree with the basic premise — the Platte River Trail and similar areas need speed limits to reduce the likelihood of accidents. It’s not about the forces involved and the amount of damage that results, it is about reaction time and prevention.

    Having multiple speed limits in various areas has some appeal, but significantly complicates both compliance and enforcement while making an insignificant difference in the time it takes to travel through the area.

    I’m very surprised at the level of animosity towards police officers and park rangers. Just like the majority of cyclists are upstanding citizens but a few bad apples stick in the minds of the public, the majority of police and park staff are trying to serve the public. Talk to a few in a calm moment (not while getting a ticket) and you will likely find that to be true.

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