Smokers and vapers on Denver’s 16th Street Mall are now on notice: Starting Dec. 1, they will need to walk at least 50 feet down a side street before lighting up or puffing.
The Denver City Council approved the public smoking ban 9-0 on Monday night, ending a weeks-long debate about how best to ensure that police don’t use the new restrictions to single out the homeless or service workers on their smoke breaks.
Councilman Paul Kashmann put forth an amendment requiring the Denver Police Department to collect information about who receives tickets, with regular reports to the council.
Even if all it takes to comply with the ban is to venture far enough off the mall, he said, “I just want to be absolutely sure that those who decide to not take that stroll, due either to obstinance or ignorance,” aren’t unfairly targeted.
His colleagues embraced that idea unanimously, but six of the nine present rejected another change proposed by Kashmann — to slap a two-year sunset on the ordinance. That would have required a council review of the measure by 2019 it to remain in effect, as a check to make sure it truly was about public health and “not just for public relations” to improve mall’s image, as Kashmann put it.
“We might as well not do it (at all),” responded council president Albus Brooks, the ban’s sponsor, expressing worry that a time limit would undercut the health campaign that’s behind the measure. “We might as well not take the step to address second-hand smoke. … I think it actually hurts the overall proposal.”
Called “Breathe Easy,” the campaign has been spearheaded by the Downtown Denver Partnership, property owners and public health advocates. Initially, Brooks says, the effort will focus on new signage and public education rather than issuing fines.
Here is what to expect when the new ban takes effect in a month:
Banned: All kinds of cigarette and tobacco smoking, as well as the use of vaporizers and e-cigarettes, within 50 feet northeast and southwest of 16th Street. The ban covers the mall from Broadway to Chestnut Place, near Union Station.
Marijuana use: This is already banned in public spaces in Denver, but supporters of the new ordinance argue it will help police, who sometimes have struggled to distinguish between tobacco and pot smoking or vaping.
Penalty: Violations are a civil infraction, not a crime, with a potential $100 fine. But a police official said officers likely would give an offender information about the new restrictions, and then a warning, before issuing a ticket.
Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post
RTD’s Free MallRide buses run on Denver’s 16th Street Mall at Tremont Place on Wednesday, March 2, 2016. There are plans in the summer to move the shuttle buses to 15th Street and 17th Street on the weekends to encourage visitors to spend more time on the mall with interactive events.
Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post
People walk across Tremont Place as RTD’s Free MallRide bus passes in the background along Denver’s 16th Street Mall on Wednesday, March 2, 2016. There are plans in the summer to move the shuttle buses to 15th Street and 17th Street on the weekends to encourage visitors to spend more time on the mall with interactive events.
Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post
Colton Kostalnick, 6, from Golden grabs hold of the Peak1Six prototype by Shears Adkins Rockmore Architects. The Prototyping Festival takes place in downtown Denver along the 16th Street Mall on Saturday, July 23, 2016.
Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post
Sean Cason, 7, right, and brother Jacob, 4, visiting from Dawsonville , GA, perch themselves atop the Rainbow Street Seating prototype by Nick Fish, Yong Huang, and Tony Yue, the AtelierHay and WorthGroup. The Prototyping Festival takes place in downtown Denver along the 16th Street Mall on Saturday, July 23, 2016.
Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post
RTD’s Free MallRide bus run on Denver’s 16th Street Mall on March 2. There are plans in the summer to move the shuttle buses to 15th Street and 17th Street on the weekends to encourage visitors to spend more time on the mall with interactive events.
Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post
The pianos are back! The pianos are back! The “Your Keys to the City”, public art program pianos along the 16th Street Mall have come out from winter hibernation in downtown Denver on Monday, May 09, 2016. Dante Love gets animated as he sits down and plays the piano as magician “The Hatter” readies a card trick in the background at a piano at California Street.
Brent Lewis, The Denver Post
DENVER, CO – January 3: A couple crosses the 16th Street Mall Saturday, January 3, 2015 at the 16th Street Mall and California Street in Denver, Colorado. The Denver area is expected to get two to four inches of snow going into Saturday morning according to the National Weather Service. (Photo By Brent Lewis/The Denver Post)
Creston Springer rests and stays warm by riding the free shuttle on the 16th Street Mall in Denver.
The view northwest along 16th Street Mall from Broadway and 16th Street, Monday, August 8, 2011.
The 16th Street Mall at California Street in downtown Denver on Thursday Oct. 16, 2008. Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post
Comments are currently closed.