Bike Pedestrian
Statewide Bicycle Pedestrian Plan Overview
CDOT adopted Colorado's first Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan in October 2012, and amended it in June 2015. The Plan's focus was the development of investment criteria for selecting biking and pedestrian projects and programs. These criteria are based on eight broadly supported goals that can be achieved in part through improved bicycle and transportation projects, and increased bicycling and walking activity.
The goals were identified through extensive public and stakeholder input, and include the following:
- Enhance safety;
- Increase bicycling and walking activity;
- Expand recreational opportunities and enhance quality of life;
- Improve public health;
- Improve environment, air quality and fossil fuel independence;
- Provide transportation equity;
- Maximize transportation investments; and
- Improve the state and regional economies.
The amended plan further refines the established performance measures to make them easier to understand, and to use by CDOT's engineering regions and other transportation planning partners. It also ensures alignment with the broader Statewide Transportation Plan.
Quick Facts on Walking & Cycling in Colorado
- The League of American Bicyclists ranks Colorado as the seventh most bicycle-friendly state in the nation.
- According to CDOT's 2012 Problem Identification Report Draft, pedestrians represented nearly 10 percent of Colorado's traffic fatalities, and bicyclists represented nearly 2 percent in 2011.
- The 2009 National Household Travel Survey indicated that nearly 2 percent of commutes in Colorado were made by bicycle—more than twice the national average. Colorado ranks second among all states in this regard.
- Colorado is a national leader in implementing short-duration and long-term traffic counts for non-motorized travel monitoring. As CDOT's count program continues to expand, it will create the ability to track bicycle and pedestrian activity levels over time.
- CDOT operates a well-established system of designated Scenic and Historic Byways. These 26 routes frequently include bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
- According to a 2000 CDOT study, the total annual economic benefit of bicycling in the state was more than $1 billion. This included revenue from summertime cycling tourists at the state's ski resorts of nearly $200 million. (At the time, Colorado's gross state product was approximately $170 billion.)
- In some Colorado cities, bicycle commuting has grown by more than 150 percent between 2000 and 2011.
- In Colorado, 30 percent of the population doesn't drive.
