A two-year ban on beach alcohol in Fort Lauderdale may come to an end.
Julie Merrell likes to have a drink or two every once in a while, but she isn’t buying it.
“Well I think there are other ways to boost tourism like maybe have bands on the beach or entertainment down here,” Merrell said.
On Tuesday, there was a meeting about the proposal, but no official vote was taken. The commission directed the beach improvement district to further refine the idea for providing food and beverage items on the beach. The proposal will be discussed again at a later date.
“If you kind of create a scene where people are comfortable partying on the beach, I think that will totally boost tourism but maintaining cleanliness on the beach is an important thing to keep in mind,” said tourist Joel Rund.
The end of the ban would mean that hotels and restaurants could offer food and drink services on the beach, in front of their own establishments. It would also allow beachgoers to bring their own drinks.
“I think you can run into a lot of people drinking in excess and littering the beach and coming into contact with our turtles nesting here, and it will cost money to clean up after them and the police to take care of them,” Merrell said.
“Yeah, you know if I was a resident here I would love to bring my cooler have a few cocktails on the beach," Rund said.
