Bikes banned in Black Hawk, CO

[ny biker]

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/23825796/detail.html

I'm kind of speechless here. Especially after reading the comments, where one guy doesn't want bikes on the road but also doesn't want them on the sidewalks.

[bmccasland]

If the roads aren't big enough for cars, then either make them one-way (and a bike lane could be safely added) or just block the road and make it pedistrian only. If you want to do business in town, park and walk, if you're passing through, now you'd have to drive around.

Sounds like not a very friendly place to me.

I looked at Google Earth maps - and there are several casinos in Black Hawk - with LOTS of asphalt around. Looks like they want to cater to the bus loads of people coming up to gamble, and don't give a hoot about people that might want to enjoy the clean mountain air by bike riding. So is Black Hawk now owned and operated by the casino syndicate?

[Kathi]

Pretty much so, beginning with the mayor,

"Mayor David Spellman, incidentally, seems like a real character. In 2006, he was convicted of felony assault after he pistol whipped his wife — beating her several times in the head with a .38 and then shooting three times in a drunken rage — during a domestic dispute. In 2008, the Colorado Bureau of Investigations determined that Spellman personally received more than $1 million in state historical funds that were meant to preserve and restore the historical character of Black Hawk (the town council approved the purchase of land from Spellman using the state funds); he and several other town officials remain under investigation, and the former town manager was forced to resign. In 2009, Spellman purchased the local newspaper that was critical of him and fired the editor. Mayor Spellman consistently has topped the “Most Corrupt Public Officials list in Colorado. He and the town her represent seem like real gold mines.

http://coloradoindependent.com/3569/colorado-political-corruption-report-names-rogues-gallery

[Kathi]

For information here's a good Facebook page "Bicyclists and Tourist Boycott Black Hawk Colorado" and the the Bicycle Colorado website, Bicycle Colorado.org.

[OakLeaf]

Isn't that illegal, if they get federal funds for the roads?

[Zen]

Here's Adventure Cycling's discussion from Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1496799354&ref=sgm#!/note.php?note_id=432454135794

[blackhillsbiker]

Wow. I grew up in Lakewood. After visiting my folks over Memorial Day weekend, hubby & I have been planning a bike trip through Colorado. I guess we'll cross Black Hawk off our list of places to go. How stupid and short-sighted.

[ny biker]

Update -- the bicycle ban in Black Hawk has been struck down by the Colorado Supreme Court:

http://www.bicycleretailer.com/north-america/2013/02/04/colorado-cyclists-win-access-road-casino-town#.URBeNPKW1Ma

[emily_in_nc]

Update -- the bicycle ban in Black Hawk has been struck down by the Colorado Supreme Court:

http://www.bicycleretailer.com/north-america/2013/02/04/colorado-cyclists-win-access-road-casino-town#.URBeNPKW1Ma

EXCELLENT news! Thanks for the update. That was just ludicrous.

[Melalvai]

This is a really good case to set a precedence for the rest of the nation. Fantastic of the Colorado Supreme Court to explain how a bicycle ban in one community ripples into other communities to discourage tourism and bicycle related industry for the entire state. This case will be held up as an example and an argument against bicycle bans everywhere.

Last year Missouri was facing a bicycle ban in a suburb near St. Louis. This year there's a representative in the district near Kansas City trying to get bicycle banned on a newly renovated highway (sadly, MoDOT passed up the opportunity to include bike/ped infrastructure in the renovation). Because MoBikeFed is a fantastic watchdog group, these bicycle bans get nipped in the bud-- and generate more membership and publicity for MoBikeFed in the process. So, it gets old having to fight the exact same battle every year, on the other hand it helps us recruit members. "See what could happen if we weren't watching out for you?"

Anyway, the KC area bike ban is happening right now and the Black Hawk ruling is timely.

[KaylaCicy]

Im looking for M4s or "M727" that look like the ones that were in the movie "Black Hawk Down". The ones Delta Force SFC Sanderson or Delta Force SSG Busch. Post your rifles