It would make no sense to pass a law requiring you to fill in a hole in the snow you might make if you fall on your butt while making your way to the car in the middle of a January dumper.
It makes about as much sense as it does to arbitrarily close all the bars at 2 a.m. — in Denver’s LoDo district.
Stay with me. Back in the ‘60s when I first hit the slopes, skiing was significantly more, ummm, rustic than it is today. While Colorado had gotten beyond hauling people up the hills at Loveland Basin on the backs of tractors, grooming the runs was a work in progress. Back then, if you skied off the major trails, you’d see signs informing you of your duty to “replace your sitzmarks.” For those who ski cross-country, back-country or way off piste, you know what this is but probably didn’t know it had a name. It’s the hole or depression you leave in the snow when you biff — fall. Back in the day, and even these days on cross-country trails, these large divots were enough to throw a beginning skier into garage sale mode.
Enforcement of the sitzmark law was treated anywhere from being a courtesy to a felonious crime, depending on which Colorado pioneer resort you were visiting. Not long after, developers, fancy snow cats, man-made snow and real skis changed everything. What could have become a bizarre statewide law, became nothing more than forgotten trivia. But clearly, it would have made no sense for one part of Colorado to be making policy for another.
That’s the case with liquor laws in Downtown Denver, especially Denver’s Lower Downtown.
You may already know that Denver’s LoDo not only has barrage of bars, restaurants and pubs that are seemingly always packed with people, but there are tens of thousands of people actually living down there, too. In fact, the area is so Times Squarish on weekends, that when the bars close at 2 a.m. it’s become one of the most dangerous places in the state as inebriated chaos ensues.
Denver lawmakers and cops have been trying to figure out a way to let folks have their fun, support the business community that’s built up around a former ghetto, and not break the public bank.
The universal 2 a.m. “everybody out” thing may not be the problem, but it’s what causes the problem of all kinds of increasingly widespread mayhem in the area.
So state Rep. Crisanta Duran, D-Denver, is asking fellow state lawmakers to change liquor laws mandating 2 a.m. closure, and instead allow bars to stay open as late as 7 a.m. — if a city government were to allow it.
It makes sense. If you’ve worked in a hopping bar, you know what a nightmare last call can be. About half the bar rushes to order as much booze as they can, and then they rush to pound it to avoid having employees snatching their vodka tonics. So multiply that by a few thousand people twice a week in the middle of the night in a short distance of each other, and you’ve got trouble. So what if most of the bars started staying open until 4 a.m.? Trust me, having been on the pouring and drinking end of the bottle for a long time, at about 2 a.m.-3 a.m. everybody runs out of steam. In fact, the chances are good that last pours would actually be coffee, juice and club soda. By allowing all the good-time charlies to head home over a couple of hours instead of a couple of minutes, you avoid the critical mass that critically inebriated masses cause.
Now I am at a point in my life where being awake at 2 a.m. is a fading memory, let alone charged and outside at last call. Sunrise benders? Not going to happen. In Aurora, this isn’t much of a problem. But neither are sitzmarks. As Aurora becomes more of a 24-hour metropolis, however, why not allow pubs along Colfax to cater to the graveyard crews at Anschutz and other places where workers’ day ends when the sun comes up? Let Aurora decide those issues, because they don’t affect Greeley, Craig or Durango, where such a thing might be a nightmare. And likewise, let Denver decide how best to handle its hyperlocal questions like last call in LoDo. Not only has the state become hugely varied, so, too, has the metro area.
This may not provide for the solution Denver needs, but it’s best that Denver decide which rules make the most sense.
Reach Editor Dave Perry at 303-750-7555 or dperry@aurorasentinel.com
A better and more sensible solution would be to keep the 2AM curfew for serving alcoholic beverages, but allow the Bars to remain open serving food and nonalcoholic drinks after 2AM. This would allow the patrons time to wind down before leaving the bar. Thus not everyone would leave the Bars at the same time and in an alcoholic haze.
sorry just thinking, that makes way to much common sense, .
I agree with Rob, too much sense is simply not part of our legislative process. This way, when the drunks leave the bar, they’re scattered out so they don’t run into each other. And then, at 7am, when the hard core drunks leave, they can run into the early commuters.
This is true, do you know how many drunk drivers and fatalities there would be not mention the police baby sitting drunks at bars. Who ideas, and do they pull them out of their ass. Wake up ….we will all be effected and one of us will pay the price. Some drunk just may hurt the one who thinks they are invisible and no one ever is…….
On 2/9 just before 2 a.m., there was a beer bottle throwing malee at Nuevo Club Adixion. This bar is located on the north side of Mississippi across from Gardens on Havana. People on the second floor were throwing bottles at people on the first floor. There were four off duty officers working security. Establishments are the ones who request officers and pay for them. This one must expect trouble to request four of them. Guess they’ll be switching to plastic cups in the near future.
Also on 2/9 around 3 p.m., one of our officers who was off duty at The Rock, sustained injuries when he tried to stop a drunk from driving by taking the mans car keys. The officer had a head injury and a broken wrist by the time it was all said and done.
How many last calls are needed? This drunk had been cut off by another bar.
By the way, a thank you is due the officer who wasn’t on the clock but acted on behalf of citizen safety and got injured in the process.
I, totally agree Aurora is being ran crazy but complete idiots and Perry has guts to put his ugly face on his columns….uguly inside too. Yes, rumors are new city councils. And, pondering Jason Pray vehicle shooting? I am still here for you and the city of aurora to one day have intelligent ppl running it right instead of scamming it to their advantage. No word on appealing hearing but it will be a hearing you don’t want to miss it……bring popcorn they is some heavy dirt coming out on Oates and his brass monkeys. Ashley, thank you for all your out spoken truth, Hell….take over Perry’s job you would run that news article keeping residents to have rights and not the pack of wolves sniffing their next lunch. Keep you posted.
Sassy,
My efforts to keep the public informed about each item pertaining to our police department and the way this city is handling it, is imperative. The majority of our officers are miserable under this chief and that takes away from the citizens.
At the last city council meeting, they all teamed up against Bernard Celestin, threw some names out there, and got him out.
Just to remind who Bernard Celestin is:
https://www.aurorasentinel.com/news/disciplined-aurora-cops-face-tough-appeal-process/
He was the only civil service member to step up and speak out against this chief’s wish to rule supreme!
This is exactly why our officers have lost confidence in Oates. He is determined to fire them whenever he wants, and with councils help, has taken away their voice and ability to tell their side of the story and have the firing overturned.
I now think of him as Chief “Don” Oates. APD’s version of John Gotti!
His reign of terror needs to end…..
oh my god Ashley, I couldn’t agree with you anymore we need to get Danny Boy out and yes he wants to play a role of the John Gotti, he try to ruin our lives once maybe twice and threaten my husband of being fired when he actually did one time but got rehired back thank God.I am so done with Danny Boy, I would do anything to get him out of there and I did try especially when he was threatening to fire my husband for a shooting that was cleared, cleared, cleared, cleared and he use the cities money to do to repack minutes in some way to find out that my husband shooting was inappropriate but it backfired on him, I was informed at the appeal process is getting closeit is an open hearing anybody can attend we’re going to have the media there as well if they’re willingwhat I plan on doing is it feels that it end I need to stand outside the building after with some sort of document all put together will detail a petition to get out that 75 percent vote of no confidence in this chief, as I do hate you refer to him as that but I hope that I can get signatureson that day or any day when it warms up I plan on walking around or standing by the district stations to get their signatures I will take the risk of being thrown off the properties. I am behind you 100 percent and these officers I can only imagine what their going through but I can tell you what he put us through and it was pure hell. I assure you I will let you know if the open hearing were old school get on the stand and lie to his teeth and it is true oats is an oath breaker. I’m not sure exactly what document to make up to make it legal but I will try to do as much as I can to get signatures of no confidence to get him out! Thank you and one day he will be gone but not soon enough.
Ashley, just like I mentioned in my hundred emails that Danny Boy John Gotti Oates is dangerous to my family to my husband, and yes to all of the officers and that department he is a very dangerous man he’s very narcissistic and a controlling man. he wants to run this city his way. I can’t tell you enough as you feel he needs to go. I know what we went through and it was pure house and I can imagine these officers on their toes not knowing what Danny Boy is going to do with their career some people know how to fight back and some dont but the point is is we need a chief in office to support these guys and gals. I still have the fight in me to help in any way and I will.
Open Hearing….. Laredo Shooting
Civil Service Commission – 6th Laredo Shooting starts 9:00 am., July 21st through July 28th at AMC Aurora Municipal Center located at Alameda & Chambers. Come see and get the, “true story of the shooting”
with APD brass on stand lie under oath. Lets try to change the shooting at a moving vehicle changed for all agencies. Oh, lets help get the right man for the job, as chief… MURPHY!!
Do the right thing get MURPHY in as Police Chief…..Oates burned this man because of competition and now, we will have a real cop with a pair to run APD.