VENTURA : Ban on Drinking in Parks to Be Weighed

The Ventura City Council will consider tonight whether to ban drinking in three downtown parks.

The request to ban alcohol use in the Downtown Mini-Park, Valdez Alley and Eastwood Park came last week from the Ventura Parks and Recreation Commission, said Bill Byrets, recreation superintendent for the city.

“We’ve had a number of complaints from tourists, downtown businesses and residents who say they are tired of being assaulted by a bunch of drunks,” Byrets said. “It’s reached a point where people are reluctant to come downtown because of a small group of transients that basically hang around and drink all day.”

Posting no-drinking signs in the three parks would allow police to enforce laws against drinking in public, Byrets said. Although police patrol the area frequently, alcohol-related problems continue, he said.

Currently, a drinking ban is enforced at only two of the city’s 23 parks, Byrets said. Alcohol is banned at Surfers Point and after sunset at Grant Park.

Valdez Alley, which connects Main Street with Cedar Street, and Eastwood Park, located at Cedar and Poli streets, pose particular problems because they are isolated. The Downtown Mini-Park, off Main Street, is more accessible, but the presence of drunks scares many people away from the business district, Byrets said.

Groups are able to get permits to drink in those parks during special occasions, Byrets said.