Today a trial challenging the Denver’s camping ban began. Defendants Jerry Burton, and Randy Russell, were given tickets by the Denver Police Department on November 28th last year for sleeping outside with blankets. Terese Howard, a member of advocacy group Denver Homeless Out Loud, was also cited.
The defendants are now facing a jury trial and pleading not guilty, saying the ban is actually a survival ban.
Jason Flores-Williams is the attorney representing the defendants. He says the camping ban is an unjust law and violates constitutional rights.
The trial is anticipated to continue through Thursday.
The Colorado Department of Transportation has joined a movement to recognize April as National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
Last year in Colorado 606 people died in roadway collisions. That’s up 11% from 2015. It is also estimated that in Colorado last year there was an average of 40 car crashes a day as a result of distracted driving.
In a survey conducted by CDOT in November, 22 percent of Colorado drivers admitted to reading messages while driving, 64 percent used some sort of entertainment, and 33 percent talked on a handheld phone.
CDOT plans to share videos demonstrating the consequences of distracted driving through their Facebook page, and are asking the public to share their own experiences.
Tonight the Boulder City Council will be reviewing a plan for a pilot program aimed at addressing the accessibility issues for Chautauqua Park.
The number of visitors to Chautauqua has doubled over the last decade, and with the boom to Colorado’s population, it is expected thousands more people will visit every year for the foreseeable future.
The pilot plan includes paid parking, and a new, free, dog-friendly shuttle route that picks park users up from satellite lots and ushers them up the hill.
City staff estimates the current plan would run Boulder $800,000 this summer alone. While just over half would come from projected parking revenue, existing city budget allocations, and a contribution from the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau. $340,000 would need to come from a new budget amendment by the council.
The meeting will begin at 6pm this evening at the Boulder Municipal Building, 1777 Broadway.
