WEEK OF MAY 1, 2025
VOLUME 136 | ISSUE 39
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Littleton mulls fate of historic ditch flumes City weighs whether to spend big money on preservation effort BY ISABEL GUZMAN ISABEL@COTLN.ORG
A gate and sign closing off a path that connects the High Line Canal trail and Jackass Hill Park in November 2024.
COURTESY OF BILLY GOOCH
Jackass Hill trail connection reopening Survey finds adjacent resident improperly claimed ownership BY ISABEL GUZMAN ISABEL@COTLN.ORG
Nearly five months after the path that connected Jackass Hill Park to the High Line Canal Trail was suddenly closed off to the public, the connection is expected to reopen by May 1. The 400-foot path was closed in November 2024 after an adjacent homeowner, believing the segment was private property, blocked entry and posted signs warning trespassers would be prosecuted. The city also initially asserted that the path was on private residential property, according to a Nov. 26, 2024, Facebook post. The reasons why the property owner who originally closed off the path are unconfirmed and the property owner did not respond to a request for comments by time of publication. However, some neighbors on
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Nextdoor.com speculated that the owner had grown frustrated over trail users’ littering and peeking into windows. “Probably a liability issue. Landowners don’t want to be on the hook for any injury that may occur,” reads one comment on a Nextdoor post from April 9 about the path closure. “They were nice enough to allow it for a time, but something caused them to change their mind. I could only guess that it could have been trash, noise or an unfriendly conversation with an entitled individual,” another comment read. The city of Littleton said the closure forced trail users onto a one-mile detour along busy surface streets, raising safety concerns among residents and disrupting a route deemed as a safe route to school for nearby students. Littleton residents pushed for a solution, such as Steve Lowry. “The city has had a long time to sort this out and has been depriving people of the use of public land,” Littleton resident Steve Lowry said on April 8, before the city an-
nounced the reopening. The city considered constructing a new trail on a property to the south, but determined that reopening the existing trail is the most cost-effective and timely way to allow access. The city initiated a property survey and legal review to clarify ownership of the disputed path, which confirmed that the city holds the public right-of-way for the trail. City officials also said they made repeated efforts to address the homeowner’s concerns and seek a collaborative solution. “Since successfully reaching the adjacent homeowner in mid-March, the city has been committed to continuing an open and productive dialogue to address any concerns related to the public use of the trail, and to ensure coordination with the city’s plans and timeline for reopening the trail,” said Jessica Bixenman, director of communications and marketing for the city of Littleton. “Ensuring access to trails and open spaces is a significant element of Littleton’s strategic plan goal to ensure the city is a ‘sustainable community with natural beauty.’”
What’s 4 feet deep, 6 feet wide and 26 miles long? The original City Ditch — one of Colorado’s earliest and most influential irrigation canals, constructed between 1864 and 1867 by the Capitol Hydraulic Company to bring much-needed water to the dry, dusty lands of the Denver metropolitan area. This hand-dug canal, also known as Smith’s Ditch, was engineered by Richard S. Little and financed by businessman John W. Smith, according to local historian Larry Borger. It stretched from its headgate near present-day Chatfield Reservoir, above Littleton, and ran roughly 26-to-27 miles northeast to Capitol Hill in Denver, relying solely on a 100-foot drop in elevation to move water without pumps. When it opened in 1867, the ditch enabled the growth of trees, sugar beet crops and neighborhoods, providing Denver with its primary irrigation source for more than 25 years. The ditch also supported a network of more than 1,000 lateral ditches, greening up city parks and supplying water to offshoots that irrigated cropland and street trees. Its construction and operation were so significant that the ditch is often called the “oldest working thing” in Denver, predating paved streets and railroads. Today, the City Ditch is mostly hidden from view. About 2.5 miles of the ditch remain open-channel, while the rest is mostly piped and buried. SEE DITCH FLUMES, P10
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