President Bush wants new gate

DALLAS (AP) — President George W. Bush wants a gate installed along a public street to limit access to his new home in an affluent Dallas neighborhood, city officials said.

Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm confirmed to The Dallas Morning News on Monday that the president, who is expected to move into the new Preston Hollow home in two weeks, is seeking to have a gate for security reasons placed somewhere along the entrance to streets leading to his future residence.

Federal money would pay for the gate, not the city, said Suhm. It's unclear how residents would use the gate to get to their homes. Wherever the gate goes, public access to Daria Place — the high-end street where the Bushes' 8,500- square-foot ranch home sits — will soon be a thing of the past.

The plan, which requires approval by the Dallas City Council, isn't expected to meet with much opposition there, and the Bushes' neighbors seem to be on board, the newspaper reported.

Residents have said that it isn't uncommon for cars loaded with onlookers to pull up and take pictures of the house.

The City Council is expected to vote on permitting the gate's construction this month, possibly as soon as its Jan. 14 meeting, City Hall officials say.

An aide to first lady Laura Bush declined to comment on the gate, calling it a security matter, the newspaper reported.