October 29, 2026
Dear Mayor Johnston and Members of Denver City Council,
We are writing to express serious concerns about Denver’s announcement that it will expand sidewalk-riding enforcement on November 1. Denver is facing a street safety crisis, with preventable traffic deaths reaching a record high in 2025. Simply put: Expanding scooter enforcement without ensuring riders have safe places to ride will put lives at risk, raises serious equity concerns, and may eliminate an essential transportation option that replaces 10,000-20,000 car trips every day. For this reason, we urge you to pause the sidewalk-riding enforcement expansion.
On October 21, a person legally riding a scooter on 15th Street near Wazee – where there is no bike lane – was hit and seriously injured by a driver. The driver was arrested and is being held for investigation of vehicular assault. This is an urgent reminder of the stakes when the City tells riders to simply get off the sidewalk. Where does the City expect riders to go when the street is not safe?
Denver needs safe streets for all. People walking and rolling — including people with disabilities, older adults, and families with children — deserve clear, accessible, and safe routes. People riding scooters and bikes also deserve protected spaces to ride. Denver’s history of prioritizing car travel has left these vulnerable groups competing for limited space.
The only proven way to reduce sidewalk riding is to give riders a safe alternative. Research across U.S. cities has documented how unsafe street conditions result in sidewalk riding. Rushing to uniform enforcement across the city will almost certainly force otherwise responsible riders to risk their lives along fast moving traffic where dangerous conditions persist. It is particularly concerning that this rushed rollout of enforcement seems so heavily weighted toward Downtown Denver, while riders across the city face vastly different street conditions and major gaps in protected bike lanes.
The proposed crackdown also raises serious equity concerns. More than 40% of all micromobility trips in Denver are taken by riders on the income-qualified Access program. Thousands of low-income Denverites depend on shared scooters for affordable, everyday transportation to reach work and essential services. These same residents are less likely to own a car, have less access to safe riding infrastructure, and bear a disproportionate burden of traffic violence. Expanding sidewalk riding penalties to these riders will disproportionately impact Denverites with the fewest transportation options.
We urge you to:
- Pause the expanded rollout and develop a data-driven, equitable enforcement plan. Start downtown on streets served by major protected bike lanes. Establish clear criteria for enforcement and work with communities before expanding beyond those locations. Do not impose rider or operator penalties where safe, protected bike routes are missing.
- Commit to expanding Denver’s protected bike network. Bring the same urgency to building safe places to ride that you are bringing to enforcement. Corridors such as 15th St, Broadway, Federal, Colorado, and Alameda are just a few examples of streets that have long needed safe infrastructure.
- Work with Veo to establish safeguards for low-income riders. The City and Veo should create a system that prioritizes education, provides accessible appeals and hardship reviews, and offers educational alternatives to financial penalties or account suspensions for sidewalk riding.
Denver’s micromobility program has been a national model of expanding equitable access to transportation. Veo is already doing their part by educating, warning, and fining riders, and as a result sidewalk riding detections are down 20%. The City’s proposal undermines that progress and conflicts with our commitments to Vision Zero and equity by putting riders at risk. It also threatens to kill shared micromobility in Denver and eliminate a critical, affordable transportation option for those with the fewest alternatives.
We urge you to pause the planned expansion and work with communities and Veo on an approach that preserves affordable transportation access while ensuring safe streets for all.
Signed,
Jill Locantore, Executive Director
Denver Streets Partnership
Peter Piccolo, Executive Director
Bicycle Colorado
Avi Stopper, Founder
Bike Streets
Rob Toftness, Co-founder
Denver Bicycle Lobby
Jamie Anderson, Executive Director
Denver Food Rescue
Michael Miller Co-Chair, LoDoNA Pedestrian Safety Committee
Lower Downtown Neighborhood Association
Joe Sak, Chair
Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee
Amanda Roberts, Council District 6 Member
Mayor’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee
Alejandra X. Castañeda, Co-organizer, Denver Metro Area
Pedestrian Dignity
Jeslin Shahrezaei, Executive Director
Prodigy Ventures
Rudolph “Rudy” Gonzales, President & CEO
Servicios de La Raza
Drew Tornquist, Project Lead
Strong Denver
Michael Hughes, Executive Director
West Line Corridor Collaborative
Maya Wheeler, Executive Director
Wezesha Dada Center (WDC)
Robert Greer, Steering Committee member
YIMBY Denver