Local

Majority Back Public Drinking Districts In Downtown Roswell

June 29th, 2016

A proposal to allow public drinking in downtown Roswell, Georgia, is gaining resident support.

The idea is to let people carry alcoholic beverages in 16-ounce cups within Park Square and Heart of Roswell Park from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

At the heart of the proposal is an effort to spur business. Roswell residents weighed in at public comment session Tuesday night.

Claire Barnes lives right along one of the proposed alcohol carry areas and said there are vacant properties could make great restaurants if they had some help.

“We all lived here when we had the public house, we had a lot of things. And for whatever reason, they all went to Canton street. So now the south is just dying,” said Barnes.

Roswell resident Neil Anderson said he’s OK with the idea of a public drinking district, but he’s not sure he wants it in the parks.

“You know, we spent a lot of energy getting smoking out of our parks, but I don’t know now do we really need to be bringing in drinking there,” said Anderson.

Debra Ewing, chair of Roswell’s recreation commission, said most residents have written in online.

“Two hundred people. The majority support it,” said Ewing.

Ewing says the recreation commission will make a recommendation to the Roswell City Council soon. It is expected to vote on the ordinance in early July.