Something is missing from a lot of the walkable downtown business zones in cities around Colorado: tobacco smoke.
John Aguilar reports on an emerging trend of smoking bans in downtowns around Colorado. The latest ban took effect on January 1 in Littleton, following earlier examples in Golden, Boulder, and Fort Collins.
Opposite those actions, according to Aguilar, "other Colorado cities and towns with similar compact, walkable downtown business zones that appear ripe for the imposition of smoking restrictions aren't even talking about it." Examples of the more permissive cities in the Denver metro area include Arvada, Louisville, and Castle Rock. Moreover, "[i]n Denver, with the most visited downtown in the entire state, talk about making the 16th Street Mall a no-smoking zone has been stuck in the early stages for at least a year."
The article provides a lot more on the larger political debate on either side of smoking bans, as well as specifics of the laws as enacted in some of these examples.
Read the full story: Are downtown smoking bans a trend in Colorado?
Colorado announces new train between Denver and Fort Collins
The plan requires an agreement with BNSF, which owns the tracks, and Amtrak, which will likely operate the service.
Colorado Officials Plan Denver-Fort Collins Rail Service by 2029
About $40 million a year in state funding from new transportation fees could be the key to getting a short passenger rail line from Denver to Fort Collins up and running in the next four years, Colorado officials said last week.
Colorado Zoning Reform Yields Slow Results — For Now
An ambitious set of zoning reforms largely fell flat as developers rushed to submit project applications before new affordable housing requirements took effect.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello