The Democratic National Convention to be held this month in Denver has been proclaimed the “Greenest Convention in History” by its organizing committee. A “hybrids only” parking lot has been set up at the site, and the committee has announced plans to buy carbon credits to offset the convention’s carbon footprint. The committee has partnered with Humana and the Bikes Belong Coalition to provide 1000 free bikes for use by attendees. Your hybrid will be valet parked, but don’t try to ride one of those free bikes to the convention. For “security reasons” bicycles will be banned from the Pepsi Center convention venue and from Invesco Field where Barack Obama will deliver his acceptance speech, according to a report from the Colorado Independent.
Perhaps this should not be surprising considering the “No Bikes Zone”declared by the New York Police Department for a large area surrounding Madison Square Garden during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Over 250 cyclists were arrested, and hundreds of legally parked bikes were confiscated by the NYPD, with some held as “evidence” for over nine months. Hundreds of lawsuits are making their way through the courts resulting from NYPD’s violations of cyclists’ rights as well as perjury and falsification of evidence by police officers. Last month, an NYPD officer was caught on film slamming a cyclist to the ground without provocation.
What is so threatening about bicycles that they are being banned and confiscated while riders are assaulted by police? Will we see a repeat of these violations of basic rights at this year’s conventions?
