The East Colfax Community Bike Library will provide vital transportation options for the local community, including many immigrants and refugees who live around New Freedom Park. With over a third of residents speaking a non-English language at home, this is one of the most vibrant parts of Denver. Neighbors here come from such diverse countries as Burma, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Afghanistan—just to name a few. Of the remaining population, 25% are American-born Black individuals and another quarter identify as Latinx. This diversity makes the East Colfax neighborhood beautiful and culturally rich. In the words of an 11-year-old Burmese resident, “I love my neighborhood because there are people from Burma like me here to support me, and people from a million other places who aren’t like me here to teach me.”
At the same time, residents of this neighborhood face extreme poverty. Over the past two years, homicide and crime rates in the 80220 zip code have ranked highest in the city while it has been designated among the three least safe Denver neighborhoods. Families lack reliable transportation, live in food deserts, and report feeling isolated and unsafe.
The creation of the East Colfax Community Bike Library will encourage kids to move their bodies and learn a mode of transportation that will serve them throughout life. At the same time, neighborhood adults will be empowered to commute for crucial errands like medical appointments or grocery shopping.