The Colorado Supreme Court on Feb. 4 handed cyclists in Colorado a huge victory when it overturned the Black Hawk bike ban with no judges dissenting. It ruled that the city’s ordinance affects both local and state concerns, and therefore is covered by state law.

“The Supreme Court has affirmed the ‘share the road’ philosophy that state legislators have embraced in Colorado’s laws,” said Dan Grunig, Bicycle Colorado executive director. “It’s a victory for Colorado because it affirms that people have the same freedom to travel across the state whether they are in a car or on a bicycle.”

Grunig thanked the ticketed bicyclists and attorneys Andrew Shoemaker and Paul Schwartz of Shoemaker Ghiselli + Schwartz for their pro-bono work and perseverance.

In 2009, Black Hawk became the only US city to ban bicycles from almost every city street. When the city began enforcing the law in 2010, the three cyclists received tickets for riding in the town. They appealed the tickets all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court.

“(This is) another reason why we need to all continue to support organizations like Bicycle Colorado, who are working diligently to remove bans like this one,”  Venus de Miles, one of Colorado’s premier cycling events, posted on its Facebook page on Feb. 4.
(Thanks for the shout out! We love open roads too.)

Read the Supreme Court decision here.