A proposed state law could make it legal to have a drink in public. It’s intended to help bars and restaurants – many of them struggling since the pandemic – and draw people back to entertainment districts like Downtown’s Pine Avenue.
Senate Bill 969, authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, would allow cities to designate public spaces as “entertainment zones,” where “local bars and restaurants are allowed to serve alcohol outdoors,” Wiener’s office said last week in an announcement about the bill
“Getting people back out in the streets is key to the economic recovery of cities across California,” Wiener said in the statement, arguing that doing so would give people “a reason to go back to areas where recovery has been slow while creating a vital new revenue stream for bars and restaurants.”
Last year, I wrote about how Downtown Long Beach is struggling to bounce back from the pandemic, and one of the best ways to give it a boost would be to turn areas like Pine Avenue into a car-free walking corridor.
These potential public promenades would also be the perfect places for Wiener’s proposed open container zones.
Pine Avenue, Fourth Street’s Retro Row and Second Street in Belmont Shore are the three primary nightlife destinations in the city, and they are also perfect candidates.
These walking corridors, however, would need to go hand in hand with a road diet or complete closure to ensure the safety of people consuming alcoholic drinks.
Fourth Street is already ahead of the game, with the popular Fourth Fridays events they host where Retro Row is shut down to cars and open to patrons. They just need to be made permanent.
Pine Avenue in Downtown would be a perfect contender for similar treatment, and it’s already been done once during the pandemic when outdoor dining was essential. This street could become a central promenade stretching from the waterfront to Sixth Street and provide a boost to all the businesses along the route.
Second Street in Belmont Shore would be a bit more difficult to shut down entirely, as it is a main entryway to the city from the southeast, but a road diet (or closing some lanes to cars and providing more space for transit, bikes, and pedestrians) would go a long way to make the area safe as an entertainment zone as well.
Providing people with safe, public spaces to hang out and, potentially, consume alcoholic beverages would not only be better for patrons but the businesses as well.
San Francisco already legalized such entertainment zones with a state bill from Wiener last year.
“This legislation will help revitalize and diversify Downtowns that need support, boost local economies, and support small businesses,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement about the new proposal.
SB 969 is already sponsored by the city of San Jose, the city and county of San Francisco, and the California Nightlife Association, making it more likely the bill will pass. If it does, Long Beach shouldn’t miss the opportunity to give businesses a boost and get people back out enjoying our nightlife.