![\"biking](\"http:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/biking-colorado.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nStates\u00a0Governor John Hickenlooper unveiled\u00a0the ambitious public-private project\u00a0to spend in excess of $100 million\u00a0over the next four years on encouraging bike usage while at the Interbike convention in Las Vegas — North America’s\u00a0largest annual trade event for the bike industry.<\/p>\n
Hickenlooper<\/a> pointed to the economic as well as environmental benefits that improved\u00a0programs and infrastructure for bicycling could bring to Colorado.<\/p>\n “Biking can be such a positive force, and I think being the best biking state is going to fuel economic growth and tourism,” said Hickenlooper. “It’s going to lead us toward a cleaner environment, and it’s going to help us be the healthiest state in America.”<\/p>\n The Colorado Pedals Project will enable local communities to exercise greater say over their own transit schemes\u00a0—\u00a0whether that includes, cycling, walking, or motorised\u00a0transportation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Initial missions\u00a0for the project will include\u00a0documenting all the trails in the state of\u00a0Colorado, whether natural, paved, or dedicated to bicycle usage, as well as as a marketing campaign to bolster support for the program locally. Furthermore,\u00a0the campaign will\u00a0promote the state’s new cycling infrastructure and the improved access to the natural environment it provides to tourists from elsewhere.<\/p>\n The plan outlines\u00a0as much as $60 million in spending on bike and pedestrian infrastructure, to be funded by the Colorado Department of Transportation, the federal government’s Transportation Alternatives Program, and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.<\/p>\n A further $30 million will be provided courtesy of the Great Outdoors Colorado initiative<\/a> and its drive to improve the connectivity of outdoor trails, while roughly $10 million will be spent\u00a0on the maintenance and expansion of Colorado’s Safe Routes to School program.<\/p>\n Hickenlooper pointed to Denmark<\/a> as an outstanding example of successful investment in\u00a0cycling infrastructure. Over half of all Danes commute to work via bicycle, while a quarter of all transportation outlays in the capital of Copenhagen are directed at cycling infrastructure.<\/p>\n “Denmark clearly shows the benefits of making these long-term investments within narrow, achievable plans,” Hickenlooper said. “[Denmark] creates bicycle-friendly communities and infrastructure that far outweighs the costs.”<\/p>\n Image by\u00a0Charles Willgren<\/a>\u00a0(some rights reserved<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Marc Howe Colorado hopes to become America’s “best state for biking” with the launch\u00a0of a $100 million scheme\u00a0to foster the usage of pedal-powered transportation via heavy investment\u00a0in cycling infrastructure. States\u00a0Governor John Hickenlooper unveiled\u00a0the ambitious public-private project\u00a0to spend in excess of $100 million\u00a0over the next four years on encouraging bike usage while at the Interbike …<\/p>\n