In January, Jefferson County Open Space and its partners used newly installed gates to close a 4-mile stretch of Lookout Mountain Road every night. They hoped this would curb illegal behaviors, such as gunfire, vandalism and littering.
However, as officials recently confirmed, problems have persisted.
The lower gate malfunctioned in early April, and Lookout Mountain Road has been open overnight since then.
Jefferson County Open Space has installed gates along a 4-mile stretch of Lookout Mountain Road that would close after park hours. The gates should be operational by December, and would help curb continual problems of people drinking, graffitiing, littering, and shooting guns in the park after hours. Credit: Courtesy graphicLocal officials and residents have been working toward overnight closures on Lookout Mountain Road for over a year. The gates were installed this November along a 4.1-mile stretch of road that only crosses parklands, so no residences are directly impacted.
While some locals were against the overnight closures, dozens on both sides of the road were in favor due to safety concerns. In fact, many pushed for JCOS to install the gates before summer 2024, but officials said the scale of work wouldn’t be possible in such a short time.
Once the permanent overnight closures started in January, officials figured there would be a learning curve as visitors adjusted to it.
However, as JCOS Interim Deputy Director Matt Robbins said, considering Lookout Mountain Road has been open every night for 100 years, that learning curve has been very steep.
Robbins said some people have been “gaming the system” by waiting outside the gates for other visitors to leave and then sneaking in while the gates are up.
Others have likely tampered with the gates. Robbins said he believes this led to the lower gate’s malfunction that was “causing it to pull the motor from the foundation.”
On Nov. 12, a Jefferson County Open Space crew works on Lookout Mountain Road’s new lower gate site. Permanent overnight closures were scheduled to start Jan. 29. Credit: Corinne WestemanRobbins confirmed repairs were scheduled to start April 28. He said he hoped the gates would be fully functional again by May 2 so the overnight closures could resume.
Once they do, Robbins said Open Space will hire a local security firm to patrol the area every night. It would complete sweeps in the parking areas and clear out any lingering visitors and ensure anyone trying to enter respects the road closure.
He said this would complement, not replace, any patrols by Open Space rangers, Jeffco Sheriff’s deputies or Golden Police officers.
Robbins clarified that, because law enforcement officers “have additional obligations in the community,” they can’t patrol Lookout Mountain Road full-time. Thus, JCOS is hiring the local security firm for the job.
The contract was still being finalized as of April 22, so Robbins said he didn’t know how long the security firm’s contract would last or how much it would cost. He said the contract would be based on a “not to exceed” amount rather than a specific timeframe.
On Nov. 12, a car drives past Lookout Mountain Road’s new lower gate site, which is near the lower Chimney Gulch Trail crossing. Jefferson County Open Space will use the gates to close a 4-mile section of Lookout Mountain Road nightly starting this winter. Credit: Corinne WestemanIn addition to fixing the gates and hiring a security firm, JCOS is installing park regulations signs in Spanish to set expectations for Spanish-speaking visitors. Robbins said that was “one of the lessons we’ve learned from the first couple of months” since the overnight closures went into effect.
The agency is also adding more signs at the lower entrance to clarify that visitors are not allowed to park or stand in the area. Robbins said he hopes this would help deter “those who are trying to game the system by ducking in” when someone else leaves after the gates close.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience as we work through these various elements,” Robbins said, addressing Goldenites and others who have been impacted. “We’re learning along the way.”
Related