One of the main reasons that sold Mandi Becher on Durango when considering to attend Fort Lewis College was its bikeability.
Compared to her home in Minnesota, she was shocked by the city’s expansive network of bike lanes, trails and the Animas River Trail that could deliver her through the city in roughly the same time it took to drive.
Before she moved out for her freshman year at Fort Lewis, Becher picked up a homemade e-bike from a friend in Minnesota. Now a senior, she said she rarely – if ever – drives to her to jobs or classes. The only time she ever fires up her car is to load up her kayak and head to Santa Rita Park for a surf session in the Whitewater Park.
“I was like, this is such a little culture shock,” Becher said. “Every day I’m using my bike, because gas is expensive, and there’s no use to drive 10 minutes when I can just bike it in 15.”
The city of Durango is encouraging residents to do like Becher does through the Week Without Driving, which will last from Sept. 29 through Oct. 5. The challenge is part of a nationwide event that challenges people who would commute to wherever they may normally go in a car to opt instead for a bike, public transit or walking.
City spokesman Tom Sluis wrote in an email to The Durango Herald that the city’s goal with the challenge is to increase awareness around alternative modes of travel.
“The movement is organized by America Walks and has hundreds of participating communities across North America,” Sluis wrote. “The goal is to increase awareness of our dependence on cars and how public transit or other modes of transportation can help offset that use.”
Sluis included how Durango’s Destination 2034 master plan needed to do more to decrease car traffic, mentioning a finding from the city’s tourism index that there are more cars on the road in Durango as compared to other mountain towns.
“This finding made sense since we are a relatively isolated community, but it was another indicator that we need infrastructure improvements,” Sluis wrote.
The League of American Bicyclists awarded Durango a gold designation for being one of the most bike-friendly cities in the nation, according to the city’s Multimodal Transportation Division’s website. But data from a 2023 census found that 64% of workers 16 years old and above drive to work, 9% walk, 6% carpool and 5% bike. The same data found that only 1% of Durangoans utilize public transportation to get to work. (A remaining 14% work from home.)
Durango performs better in some areas than the national average, though; according to a 2024 study from the Pew Research Center 78% of Americans nationwide drive to work, 4% take public transit, 2% walk and fewer than 1% ride their bike.
According to the city’s 2023 Multimodal Transportation Plan, as the community continues to grow, one of the city’s goals are five-fold: to establish a more connected multimodal transportation network; improve the city’s existing safety network; make city infrastructure more equitable to all users; make the city more sustainable; and boost public health with better access to recreation and community activities.
The Week Without Driving program aligns with the city’s research and its goals, Sluis wrote.
“Decreasing auto congestion benefits the workforce and the community overall by making it easier to get around,” Sluis wrote. “Increasing public transit opportunities also helps people who might not be able to afford a car, those with disabilities or those who have concerns about climate change.”
According to Week Without Driving’s website, the challenge is not only about building community and lowering the amount of carbon dioxide-producing vehicles on the road, but bringing awareness to people who may not have the luxury of driving a car all the time, such as young people, people with disabilities, seniors and those unable to afford a car.
Sluis wrote that Durango residents who choose to participate in the challenge can enter to win a $50 Heart of Durango Dollars gift card, redeemable at many businesses throughout town. By downloading the Way to Go Durango app on their mobile device, participants can track their commuting miles through the week. The person with the greatest amount of miles at the end of the day on Oct. 5 wins.
Becher plans to participate in the Week Without Driving. But for her, the joy of riding to work every day is a reward enough.
“I feel, honestly, more safe on a bike than in my car, like people are bad drivers,” Becher said. “I ride my bike to work every day, and it’s a nice way to decompress, not to pay for parking and you get to look at the trees.”
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
