Golden is considering a sweeping ban that could make a large swath of its historic district—and possibly its trails and public events—off-limits to smokers.

According to the Denver Post, the City Council discussed a potential ordinance last week that would eliminate smoking along a four-block section of Washington Avenue roughly between 10th Street and 14th Street. If approved, the newspaper says the ban—which would include the use of electronic cigarettes and vaporizers—would be even more restrictive than the one in Boulder, which made the Pearl Street Mall smoke-free last year.

But is it necessary?

City Manager Mike Bestor told the Post that the idea for a smoke-free zone was the result of complaints from customers affected by smoke wafting into downtown’s outdoor dining patios, which already are restricted from smoking. The City Council instructed its staff to create a map where the ban would specifically apply. “We have a very strong percentage of our population that is into fitness and who don’t like secondhand smoke,” Bestor told the paper. “When you’re sitting on a patio with just a railing between you and those walking by, smoking by pedestrians will impact your meal.”

So far, there’s no timetable on when a decision will be made.

—Image courtesy of Shutterstock