Media

A coalition of mobility advocacy groups gave Mayor Johnston a 'D' on transportation, citing record traffic fatalities and slower bike lane construction than his predecessor. Johnston's office pointed to parking reform and microtransit expansion.

The highway lobby — oil, auto, roadbuilding, and trucking industries — employs 200+ lobbyists and spends over $100 million annually to block transit alternatives and lock in car-dependent infrastructure, driving up household transportation costs for everyone else.

Family cargo e-bike sales are booming as parents replace the second car for school runs and kids' activities. Convenience — not environmentalism — is driving adoption, with parents citing skipped traffic, no parking hassles, and faster trip times on journeys of 1–3 miles.

Following the July 2025 death of cyclist Salih Koç in a hit-and-run at 38th & Tejon — an intersection Denver flagged as dangerous in 2021 but didn't fix — advocates call out the city's failure to fund bike infrastructure. Denver's new Vibrant Denver Bond includes no dedicated bike lane funding, and 2025 has already seen more cyclist deaths than all of the previous year.

Bicycle advocates say Mayor Johnston's $935 million Vibrant Denver bond package neglects dedicated bike infrastructure, while the city argues cycling improvements are embedded in broader transportation projects. (Editor: they are not)

A full timeline of the events surrounding the Alameda decision in Denver. After DOTI reversed its finalized Alameda Avenue road diet plan under pressure from affluent residents, safety advocates and advisory board members say the process broke public trust and ignored years of community engagement.

Describes the predictable three-phase arc of public response to car-reduction policies: loud initial opposition, a peak of resistance at implementation, then rapid acceptance as benefits become visible. Historical examples from Amsterdam and Paris confirm the pattern — resistance is temporary, acceptance is durable.

PeopleForBikes makes the case for bike infrastructure investment across six dimensions: safety (protected lanes reduce injuries up to 90%), public health, local economic growth, transportation choice, job access, and air quality. Every dollar spent on active transportation saves approximately $24 in medical costs.

The Economist's analysis of 7.5 million crashes finds that the heaviest SUVs and pickups kill far more people than they save — for every life saved in the heaviest 1% of vehicles, more than a dozen are lost in other cars. A 1,000 lb increase in the striking vehicle raises the fatality likelihood by 66%. The average new car in America now weighs over 4,400 lbs.

The image depicts the "Hill of Hysteria" idea in the form of a bell curve. Initial resistance is then transformed into acceptance through time. Something policy makers miss, repeatedly. Do it and let it succeed.

Explores why communities resist traffic-calming changes even when evidence shows they improve quality of life. Introduces 'Baseline Syndrome' and 'Motonormativity' to explain how car-dependent infrastructure becomes normalized — and how cities like Ljubljana and Amsterdam show that public support flips once people adapt.

A review of nearly 500 studies finds that car culture causes roughly 1 in 34 deaths worldwide — 1.67 million annually from crashes and pollution. Organizes the harms into four categories: violence, health impacts, social injustice, and environmental damage.

Traces the century-long history of the "war on motorists" grievance — a rhetorical device invented by the auto industry in the 1920s to deflect blame for traffic deaths. The myth resurfaces whenever cities propose safety measures, despite roads having always been built at public expense and pedestrians bearing the cost of car-centric design.

U.S. diplomat Sarah Langenkamp was evacuated from Ukraine for her safety — then killed by a truck driver while cycling in a bike lane in Bethesda, MD. Her husband raised over $150,000 for street safety advocacy, arguing that painted bike lanes without barriers are "death traps."

Streetsblog Denver's founder argues local journalists display "windshield bias" when covering transportation, urging reporters to center vulnerable street users and hold officials accountable to their own safety and climate commitments.

A satirical take on Bike To Work Day from the Onion's "Stan Kelly". The drivers are left to starve as the cyclists enjoy the free food.

A Slate investigation into how news organizations routinely botch coverage of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities — relying on police reports uncritically, using passive language that obscures driver fault, and treating crashes as isolated incidents rather than a systemic public safety crisis.

A University of Denver civil engineering professor surveyed thousands of road users and found drivers and cyclists break the law at nearly equal rates — drivers to save time, cyclists for self-preservation. Cities with better bike infrastructure saw fewer cyclist violations.

Denver officials debate why the city doesn't prioritize protected bike lanes like other countries. DOTI cites right-of-way constraints, while advocates argue the real barrier is political will, not space.

Denver cyclists held a critical mass ride and die-in protest after three cyclists were killed in a single week — including championship racer Gwen Inglis and a 12-year-old boy. Advocates called for protected bike lanes, noting that 40 mph speeds leave cyclists only a 10% survival chance in a crash.

Three dozen Denver cyclists gathered at 33rd & Zuni to install a ghost bike and honor Dave Martinez, 53, killed in a hit-and-run on January 7, 2019. His death came as Denver recorded 59 traffic fatalities in 2018 — a 16% increase — despite Mayor Hancock's Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2030.

Local roads are funded primarily through property taxes and the general fund — not driver fees. In Denver, only about 5% of road funding comes from usage fees, meaning non-drivers subsidize road infrastructure too.

The deaths of cyclists Scott Hendrickson and Alexis Bounds sparked public protests and renewed scrutiny of Denver's Vision Zero Action Plan, highlighting a pattern of preventable traffic fatalities the city has acknowledged but struggled to address.

Denver's #RedCupProject, part of a worldwide day of action, inspired by the death of D.C. bike advocate Dave Salovesh. Activists lined bike lanes with red Solo cups and tomatoes in 20+ cities to show how easily protected lanes could be built — and how deadly unprotected ones are.

DBL's very first large action. Cyclists joined a critical mass ride through Denver organized by Jonathan Fertig following the deaths of two cyclists in recent weeks. Participants sent a mass auto-filled email to Mayor Hancock and all city council members demanding safe streets.

A CJR analysis of how journalists use passive language ('car strikes pedestrian') and focus on victim behavior when covering crashes — inadvertently shielding drivers from scrutiny and normalizing traffic violence.

Research finds that 24 of 25 U.S. cities prioritize helmet messaging over infrastructure in official bike safety communications — deflecting blame onto cyclists and shielding car-centric street design from scrutiny.

A 1967 urban renewal plan would have demolished much of Lower Downtown Denver to build a highway connecting I-25 to I-70. The Skyline Freeway was never built, sparing iconic blocks along Wynkoop and Larimer.

Vox's explainer on the hidden costs of free parking, A direct referenece to Donald Shoup's seminal book 'The High Cost of Free Parking'

An artist and architect's depiction of the inequality of urban space.

A driver asks a group of cyclists where they will park if they take away their parking spot. In the background is parking as far as the eye can see.

Bill Watterson was great.
Script: Hey Dad, I'm doing a traffic safety poster. Do you have any ideas for a slogan? Sure! "Cyclists have a right to the road too, you noisy, polluting, inconsiderate maniacs! I hope gas goes up to eight bucks a gallon!" Thanks, Dad. I'll go ask Mom. Why? That's a GREAT slogan!

This picture illustrates the danger of poorly-designed streets, which the Swedish government set out to improve in the 1990s. It was originally created by Swedish artist Karl Jilg, who was commissioned by the Swedish Road Administration to explain new Vision Zero initiatives.

News and commentary on the worldwide fight to undo a century of damage wrought by the automobile — covering politics, policy, and pop culture. Hosted by Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon, the show approaches car dependence from all angles and advocates for cities that prioritize people over vehicles.

A monthly podcast investigating why people of color face disproportionate police aggression during everyday activities like walking, cycling, and riding transit — and what can be done about it. Hosted by urban planner and Rutgers professor Charles T. Brown, the show features critical conversations on equity, transportation justice, and systemic racism in public spaces.

Pragmatic conversations about all things transportation, exploring safety, congestion pricing, transit, urban planning, and policy with civil engineering professor Wes Marshall and transportation writer David Zipper.

A presenter shows a group of irritated citizens the circuitous route they are given to travel versus cars.

How we should be reacting to NIMBYs.