Bow Mar, the tiny lakefront town on Denver’s southern edge, is moving ahead this spring with a plan to install gates across several public streets in an effort to cut down on nonresident traffic. Under the trustees' proposal, residents would get RFID vehicle tags that automatically raise the gates, while visitors would punch in an access code. The idea has already stirred up a regional fight: Denver and Littleton have fired off a joint demand that Bow Mar halt the project and warned they may take action of their own if the gates go up.
Town approved plan after study
Town meeting packets and a board resolution show that trustees signed off on the gate program, including a primary installation on South Sheridan Boulevard, then directed staff to start design work and seek a legal review, as detailed by the Town of Bow Mar. The documents cite earlier traffic counts and neighborhood feedback as the main reasons for turning to physical barriers instead of relying only on signs and stepped-up enforcement.
Cities push back
Denver and Littleton did not take long to respond. The two cities sent a joint letter demanding that Bow Mar stop the gate project and warning that they could install their own barriers on the Denver and Littleton sides of boundary streets, according to reporting by 9NEWS. Littleton Mayor Kyle Schlachter told the outlet the city “found out about the plan from a resident,” and a Denver spokesperson said the proposal raises “serious traffic and safety concerns” that could “force corresponding action.”
How the gates would work
Engineering memos posted by the town spell out the technical details. Matrix Design Group recommended Sheridan as the first location for a gate and provided concept drawings for gate placements at Sheridan, Belleview and Berry, along with other potential traffic changes. The town’s construction packet explains that residents would receive RFID tags while visitors would use an access code, consistent with the Matrix recommendation. Town materials also show trustees talking about closing a few short street links at the municipal boundary, in combination with other traffic calming measures.
Legal questions
Colorado law gives municipalities broad power to regulate their streets, including altering or vacating them, under statutes such as C.R.S. § 31-15-702, which covers municipal control of streets and alleys, per the state code. That authority is not unlimited, however. Legal observers say that closing public roads to everyone except residents and their guests could go beyond what the law allows, and 9NEWS quoted legal analyst Scott Robinson as saying the statute “does not authorize complete closure” in most situations. The relevant statutory text is available in the Colorado code.
What happens next
With design approvals and a legal review now on the books, the dispute is poised to shift into attorneys’ inboxes and, potentially, regional court dockets. Whether Bow Mar decides to press ahead, and whether Denver and Littleton follow through on their threats to physically or legally block the gates, will ultimately determine how far a small municipality at the edge of a major metro area can go in limiting access on public streets.
