Rio Bike Nights Continues... Guest Speaker Series - Every Wednesday in July at the Agave Room above the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant. Doors at 7:00pm. Rio refreshments and appetizers provided. What makes a 21st century bicycle friendly community? Learn from the experts.

~ This Wednesday (7/14) - Dan Burden is an internationally recognized authority on livable and sustainable communities, healthy streets, traffic calming, and bicycle and pedestrian programs. Dan is co-founder and executive director of the non-profit Walkable and Livable Communities Institute located in Port Townsend, Washington. Dan Burden is an internationally recognized authority on livable and sustainable communities, healthy streets, traffic calming, and bicycle and pedestrian programs. Dan is co-founder and executive director of the non-profit Walkable and Livable Communities Institute located in Port Townsend, Washington.

Dan’s efforts to get the world “back on its feet” earned him the first-ever lifetime-achievement award issued by the New Partners for Smart Growth and the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. The League of American Bicyclists has named Dan as “one of the 25 most significant leaders in bicycling for the past 100 years.” In 2001, Dan was named by TIME magazine as “one of the six most important civic innovators in the world.” Also that year, the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences honored Dan by making him their Distinguished Lecturer.

In 2009, a user’s poll by Planetizen.com named Dan as one of the Top 100 Urban Thinkers of all time. In 2010, Newsweek Magazine (February) and Reader’s Digest (forthcoming) will feature articles that include Dan. Dan has more than 35 years of experience helping create livable communities through a focus on non-motorized transportation. He served for 16 years as the first State Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for the Florida Department of Transportation (1980-1996). This program became a model for other statewide programs in the United States. Dan co-founded Walkable Communities in 1996. Since then, he has helped 2,700 communities throughout the world become more livable and walkable.

Dan started the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute to assist cities throughout the world in becoming more walkable, bicycle friendly, sustainable, socially engaged, and welcoming places by improving the built form. Through on-site assessments, independent expert review of projects, workshops, webinars, lectures and conferences, Dan engages planners, designers, and leaders to successfully rebuild blocks, neighborhoods, towns, and regions.

~7/21 - Dom Nozzi is an author, urban planner, and maintains a consulting practice in which he writes and speaks about street design, urban design, & quality of life. His primary skills are in urban design, bicycle planning, transportation choice, and "plain English" land development codes promoting quality of life.

~7/28 - Betsy Jacobsen is the State of Colorado Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator. Betsy will discuss CDOT's efforts regarding improving biking and walking conditions throughout the state.