Boozy Boulevard? Open containers may be coming to Third Street Promenade

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Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade could soon into Bourbon Street West.

Local lawmakers are aggressively pursuing the idea of creating a downtown “entertainment zone” where locals and tourists could roam freely with alcohol everyday between 8 a.m. and 2 a.m.  

The proposal comes as officials struggle to breathe life into the dying retail zone.  “If we want to bring our tourists and regional visitors back downtown, I think we need to make it worth their while,” Santa Monica’s Mayor Pro Tem Caroline Torosis announced at Tuesday night’s city council meeting.

The initial zone — which could be active as soon as June — would run on Third Street between Wilshire Boulevard and Arizona Avenue.  If it is successful, the area could be expanded in the future.

If approved, the zone would become the first of its kind in the state since Governor Gavin Newsom passed a bill allowing public drinking in areas deemed “entertainment zones.”

Patrons 21 and over would be required to wear colored wrist bands and all beverages would be served in non-glass containers.

“This is easy,” former Mayor Gleam Davis said. “The sooner we get it up and running, the more successful it’s going to be.”

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