JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Drinking alcohol and walking along Jacksonville’s Riverwalk could soon become legal, as a city council committee is set to discuss a bill allowing alcohol possession on the popular walking path Tuesday evening.
If approved, the bill would allow alcoholic beverages to be purchased in approved containers from licensed businesses along the Riverwalk and be consumed within the boundaries of the path.
The Riverwalk attracts both locals and tourists to the St. Johns River's edge.
“We come down here a lot especially every Saturday with our dad we walk along the river," Ashley Issacs, a Jacksonville resident, said.
The prospect of buying alcohol and taking a stroll is an idea that has many excited.
“I think that would be a really cool idea, it would bring more people Downtown I think," Amber Lee, a Jacksonville resident, said.
The Downtown Investment Authority introduced the bill, which is currently being reviewed by the City of Jacksonville's Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety Committee.
The bill would allow alcohol consumption along the Riverwalk from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Licensed businesses along the river, like the Hyatt Hotel, would sell approved alcohol to-go containers that could be taken along the water.
Open containers of alcoholic beverages within public parks located in the Jacksonville Riverwalk Specialty Center would still be prohibited, except during events permitted by the City of Jacksonville.
City leaders believe the move will bring more people to the Riverwalk and Downtown area and promote more business development along the river.
“I think it’s a good thing for our community, for our city, anything we can do to encourage development of downtown I think will be a positive," District 6 City Councilman Michael Boylan said.
Jacksonville residents seem to agree.
“There’s already so much development happening, but I feel like it would really inspire more people to come downtown which would be nice," Lee said.
The bill will be discussed during a Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday.
If the approval process goes as planned, leaders say the community could be drinking along the river as soon as this summer.