The Post Editorial Ban smoking on 16th St. Mall
Good for city leaders who have finally reached the breaking point of tolerance for those smoking cigarettes and marijuana on the 16th Street Mall.
Banning smoking, including vaporizers and e-cigarettes, on Denver’s most iconic street, a pedestrian promenade visited by tens of thousands of tourists a day, is the right thing to do. The mall is in dire need of care to ensure that future visitors to our fine city don’t walk away questioning Colorado’s reputation for being a beautiful, healthy and economically vital state.
Our support represents a shift in our past positions, and we don’t make it lightly. We readily admit the appeal of this ban is not based on manufactured fears of second-hand smoke in an outdoor setting where most people are on the move. Rather, our motivation is pragmatic.
The mall has become overrun by drifters, aggressive malcontents and criminals who prey on or surround the vulnerable homeless population living day-to-day on our streets. A smoking ban would help break up the concentration of idlers that linger on this mile-long transit and pedestrian thoroughfare and would do wonders for our urban community.
We don’t expect this to solve overnight the woes that Denver’s growing core is experiencing, but it puts a tool in the toolbox of officers, city employees and private guards whose job it is to ensure safety, security and a pleasant experience on the mall.
Neither could our position be considered heartless. We’ve long opposed ordinances aimed at making homelessness illegal, and we’re huge advocates of the investments Mayor Michael Hancock has made toward providing housing and employment opportunities to those who are in need.
But time has finally come for drastic measures to protect the city’s crown jewel.
Denver must not be left behind by Boulder, Golden, Fort Collins, and Littleton that have implemented similar bans in their urban cores.
When the University of Colo- rado at Boulder installed a campus-wide ban on smoking, we were quick to point out the many real pitfalls of such a plan, not the least of which is the difficulty of enforcement. But we think in this case — the impracticality of reminding people they can’t smoke every single day — is the strength of just such a ban.
Increased presence and activity of rule enforcers is exactly what the mall needs. And while it might seem petty to enforce such a rule, each interaction will send a message that this city cares about its streets and its community.
Skeptics will refuse to believe it, but a ban would also send a message that Denver cares about those who smoke and who would be inconvenienced by such a rule. Because, as skeptical as we are that the effects of secondhand smoke could be that harmful in an open-air setting, there’s no denying that cigarettes are a noxious, deadly product deliberately designed to spur addiction. This ban could help some who work along the mall cut back on their smoking, and while the chances are slim, it could even motivate some to quit.
We wish Denver City Council President Albus Brooks luck as he pushes Denver City Council to approve this ordinance next month. The members of The Denver Post’s editorial board are William Dean Singleton, chairman; Mac Tully, CEO and publisher; Chuck Plunkett, editor of the editorial pages; Megan Schrader, editorial writer; and Cohen Peart, opinion editor.