Speaker 4: None, Mr. President.
Speaker 2: Okay. Communications. Do we have any communications?
Speaker 4: None.
Speaker 2: Mr. President, we have one proclamation this evening comes from Councilwoman Sussman. Will you please read Proclamation 731?
Speaker 5: Certainly. Thank you, Mr. President. This is a proclamation designate designating the week of June 26 through June 30th as Bike Week and Wednesday, June 28th, as Bike to Work Day in Denver. Whereas the city and county of Denver partners with the Denver Regional Council of Governments, local bicycling organizations and cycling enthusiasts each year to plan activities and events intended to promote awareness of the benefits of bicycling. And. WHEREAS, Bike to Work Day is an annual event designed to encourage people to ride their bicycles for transportation on a consistent basis to reduce congestion, improve air quality, and benefit public health. And. Whereas, the Department of Public Works hosts the Civic Center Park Breakfast Station, one of the largest in the region where cyclists celebrate their commute to work with free snacks, raffle prizes, music and educational outreach as well offered by organizations in the region. And. Whereas, the Department of Public Works is a major contributor in the planning and implementation of Denver's Bicycle Network, implementing at least 15 miles of new bikeways annually, and this year installing protected bikeways on 14th Avenue, ninth Avenue and 14th Street. And whose neighborhood bikeways along Knox Court and West 35th Street will be the first in the city, and whose plans to install additional bike infrastructure and to upgrade existing bike infrastructure are contributing to Denver's designation as a top bicycling city. And. WHEREAS, The Department of Public Works continues to build out the city's bicycle network to provide people with convenient and connected access with the goal of ensuring every household is within a two minute bike ride or one quarter of a mile of a comfortable and low stress facility. And. Whereas, Denver is supporting bicycling in the other new and creative ways included on street bike corrals, bike repair stations and bike sharing near places where people gather with the goal of supporting local businesses and making bike riding an attractive way to get around for more of Denver's residents. And. Whereas, bicycle and pedestrian safety continues to be a top priority for the Denver City Council of the City and County of Denver, which is supporting funding for additional and expedited multimodal improvements that will increase bicycling in our city. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the City Council of the City and County of Denver, Section one, that the Council designates the week June 26 through June 30th, 2017 as Bike Week, and June 28th as Bike to Work Day and encourages citizens to stay safe this summer. No matter what your mode of travel. Section two that the clerk of the city and county of Denver shall affix to seal of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation, and that a copy here of be forwarded to the manager of Public Works.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Council assistant your motion to adopt.
Speaker 5: I move that the proclamation be adopted.
Speaker 2: All right. It has been moved and seconded comments by members of Council Councilwoman Sussman.
Speaker 5: Thank you, Mr. President. I was just delighted to be asked to do this particular proclamation. I used to be a really fanatic biker. I've fallen off from biking a little. Well, not from my bike, but. And I want to get back into it. Councilman Brooks asked me if I had intended to ride my bike into council tonight, and I wish I thought of that. That would have been kind of a fun thing to do. But certainly biking and walking and transit are very high priorities in our city. And the improvements that the city has made the intention of the city to make even more the will of the council is to make our city much more bike friendly than it already is. We have wonderful trail systems. We need to, of course, increase the opportunities for bike commuters and just make our streets safer for bicyclists and for pedestrians. And I'm so pleased with what Public Works has done and what the mayor has done and what our city council has done to promote this wonderful kind of way to get around the city.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Councilman Sassaman, Councilman Clark.
Speaker 6: Thank you, Mr. President. I'm really excited about the proclamation. Thank you, Councilwoman, for bringing forward my bike pin on today. And to celebrate the beginning of bike week. I did ride my bike today, you know, which is very unusual for me. I'm so excited about this week because I am hoping that there are people all across the city who will get as excited as I am about bicycling in this city. And I think because we we need this. We are growing by 40 new people a day and we can't expand our roads and single occupancy vehicle our way out of the growth that we're experiencing. But not just because it's what is great for our city, but because every single day the favorite part of my day is my right in my right back. And I, you know, I could talk for a couple of hours on this. I will try and control myself and just share the story that changed my life when it came to biking. And hopefully this week somebody out there will take a chance. It'll change their life and you'll never look at commuting the same. You also will never be truly happy in a car again once you have found the awesomeness that is riding your bike to work and everywhere else. I went and got my milk from the grocery store yesterday on my bike and it was awesome. But what changed it for me is the city was participating in the Green Lanes project and I got to talk to a gentleman. I was doing a bike ride with him in Amsterdam where there are bicycle bicyclists everywhere trying to solve what is what is working here and how did they get here. And he was wearing a suit jacket on this bike tour that he was giving us and talking about how he doesn't own a car and he bikes everywhere. And someone in our group asked him, said, so, you know, don't you get to work all sweaty and need to take a shower? And he looked at all of us like we are from a foreign planet. And he said, no, if I start to sweat, I stopped pedaling. It's as simple as that. And I think that that little thing completely changed for me. It was always, I have to put on my bike appropriate clothes and I have to try and get there faster than I could have in a car. And I have to bike, bike, bike, bike, bike. And we have this spandex bike culture. And I think if there's one thing that we could do that would transform the number of people who feel like biking works for them, it would be if you start sweating, stop pedaling, look up at our awesome tree lined streets and how beautiful it is and how quiet it is and go off that main road and go into that side street and look at paint colors on houses that you might paint your house. And it is awesome and transformational. And I ride my bike to work every day in my work clothes I have never needed to. Pack different clothes for work, because if I start sweating, I start pedaling. So that's my lesson for this week. Very excited about this proclamation. Thank you for bringing it. Thank you, Mr. President.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Councilman Clark. And thank you, Councilwoman Sussman, for for bringing this forward. You know, I'll just say that this is something that is incredibly important, I think, for us as a city and and for me as a council person who represents the urban core. And, you know, I went on one of those Green Lane project trips, and it changed me as well. And I came back to Denver determined to be the first African-American in a suit riding a bike. And that's not a joke, because every time I ride through five points, I'm reminded of that. But I think it's incredibly important for us to think about different modes of transportation. And we know that when we start creating protected bike lanes, it dramatically increases participation in people riding their bikes because they feel safe, because the lane is connected and it connects them to the rest of the city. And so I am extremely supportive of this. I'm extremely supportive of us becoming a multi-modal city. But this proclamation should remind us, as people who drive cars not to be distracted because we have a very high rate in this city and cities all over America of hitting of distracted drivers, hitting pedestrians and bicyclists. And so this should remind us to stay focused if we choose to drive a vehicle and make sure to know that there are more and more people who are deciding to ride, bike and walk as pedestrians. And we need to create a safe city. And we do have a zero vision zero here in this city. It is a priority for us. And so we need to think about that. All right. Madam Secretary, roll call.
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Speaker 6: Yeah.
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Speaker 4: 12 Eyes.
Speaker 2: 12 Eyes. Proclamation 731 has been adopted. Ms.. Councilwoman Sussman, is there anyone you want to bring up?
Speaker 5: There certainly is. Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to ask Dan Raine and Dylan Monk to come forward.
Speaker 2: Good evening. Castle could see all like to introduce Dylan Monk. Dylan has planned details, everything for our Back to Work Day event at the Civic Center Park. His enthusiasm not only for setting up the event, but encouraging coworkers to ride to work as this guy rides to work every day. And he's going to be driving The Slowpoke on Wednesday. I've been biking to the train, but I haven't done the full trip in a while. We live out in Southeast Aurora, so it's good to have a rabbit in front of you and someone to chase. Charles Point. Yeah, you know, we join the rest of the nation with bike to workweek and celebrating bicycling and giving.
Speaker 0: Folks, you know, an option to.
Speaker 2: Try it out. A really fun, friendly way to do it. You know, people do stop riding for a while, you know, reasons or my case, I had issue with health. They kind of took me off the bike for a while. But, you know, it's just like riding a bicycle. They say.
Speaker 5: Get back up, just.
Speaker 0: Get back to doing it. And, you know, we're going to continue to expand the network with low stress, high use of use facilities.
Speaker 2: And cast member. Back to your point, vision zero, no death. That's acceptable. And we're continuing to work towards making a safer environment and more mobility options for all. Thank you.
Speaker 5: Thank you. Thank you. Ceiling.
Speaker 2: Yes, thank you again, Councilwoman Sussman. And just a quick reminder to pay attention, everyone, tomorrow, because I think your your the flow of traffic will be a little lighter because of how many people are on their bikes. And it is crazy, but it happens.
Speaker 3: On.
Speaker 2: Wednesday. There you go. Thank you, Councilwoman Sussman. All right. Madame Secretary, can you please read the resolutions.
A proclamation designating the week of June 26 through June 30 as “Bike Week” and Wednesday, June 28, as “Bike to Work Day” in Denver.