Public commenter urges protected bike lane on North Tejon after bicyclist’s death

Alejandra Castaneda, a public commenter, told Denver City Council on May 4 that a long‑delayed funded protected bike lane and intersection improvements on North Tejon Street in District 1 would likely have prevented the death of bicyclist Sally Koch.

“I attended the sentencing hearing for the driver who killed Sally Koch,” Castaneda said, urging the council and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure to bring community members together to make the protected bike lane a reality on North Tejon Street. She said the infrastructure and intersection changes “would have most likely prevented Sally’s death.”

Castaneda pointed to what she described as a record number of traffic‑related deaths last year — saying “93 people killed” — and framed Sally’s death as predictable and preventable. She said she and others in the community are heartbroken and pressed council and DOTI to act beyond minor interventions such as signal timing changes.

The comment came during the council’s half‑hour general public comment period, when council members do not respond on the record; staff may follow up after the session. The city’s procedure during public comment is to take remarks without debate or immediate council reply.

Castaneda asked that council staff and the district councilmember convene community members and city staff to urgently implement the funded protected bike lane and associated intersection safety improvements. The council did not take action during public comment; any follow‑up or timeline for DOTI work was not specified during the session.

Clarifying details presented by the speaker — including the cited total of “93” traffic deaths last year and the exact funding status and timeline for the North Tejon protected lane — were asserted by the commenter and were not independently confirmed in the public comment record.