New sidewalk drinking areas soon will be a part of downtown Lawrence.
City commissioners Tuesday night agreed to partially lift a ban on allowing downtown bars to apply for sidewalk seating areas.
Commissioners said if a downtown bar can show that it has no other option - like a rear deck - to allow for outdoor seating, then it may apply for a sidewalk seating area.
The new regulation is a major change from the city's current practices, which since 1994 have limited sidewalk seating areas to restaurants that make at least 70 percent of their sales from food.
City staff members have estimated about six downtown bars potentially could qualify for the new sidewalk seating areas.
Commissioners approved the new regulations on a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Mike Amyx opposed. Amyx, as did some local residents, said he was concerned the sidewalk drinking areas could change the ambiance of downtown.
Comments
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CrazyDiamond (anonymous) says…
Perhaps the first step toward making Mass Street a pedestrian mall?
nobody1793 (anonymous) says…
I don't like the idea......but to be honest, most KU drunks don't even go out to the bars until 10:30 or later, so unless you're taking your young daughters downtown at midnight, there probably won't be too much different.Red Lyon, Tap Room, Sandbar... pretty much all the others have outdoor areas already. what are the others that it will impact?
tangential_reasoners_anonymous (anonymous) says…
I say relax the "open container" restrictions and spill out onto the street.( No need to disembark. )
Andini (anonymous) says…
Yes. Liquor in the front.
pimp11 (anonymous) says…
playin' any poker in the back?
KU_Dude (anonymous) says…
Marion Lynn (Marion Lynn) says: Not posting here much any more-----Is it because your buddy sven/cool/spiderman is banned from here?
KLATTU (anonymous) says…
"Perhaps the first step toward making Mass Street a pedestrian mall?"Never in Kansas. They want to raise the Mass St. speed limit to 75mph. Pedestrians and cyclists are commies. If God would have wanted us to walk he would have given us feet, err..., he wouldn't have given us a thriving American automobile industry, err.... unlimited, cheap petroleum, errr...... It's just anti-American!!!
cheeseburger (anonymous) says…
Thanks for trying, Mr. Amyx. Guess the commission will continue to cow-tow to the whims of a few in this town, without consideration of what is best for the community in general. Anything for alcohol!
LarryNative (anonymous) says…
Anything for alcohol = anything for tax revenue = city services. The city of Lawrence should require residents to take an economics course before being allowed to live in the city. I love those individuals, mostly the loudest, who do not want to help downtown business, complain about KU students, want no tax abatements to lure business, and demand a "living wage". I would love to see any of you outline your master plan how a city can survive under your economic belief system. You can call it, "My Bankrupt Utopian Society".
cheeseburger (anonymous) says…
Anything Larry? Where do you draw the line - or do you?
Raider (anonymous) says…
Brick up Mass St from 10th to 7th, only allowing traffic on the cross streets. Then, you can allow sidewalk vendors, live entertainment and all sorts of other activities. Anyone been to Fremont St in Vegas? Granted, we won't have the casinos, but a pedestrian entertainment venue would be great, and provide additional revenue.Another thing to increase sales tax revenue is to bring a better mix of stores to downtown. We need better clothiers for men in this city.
foodboy (anonymous) says…
Pedestrian mall? Just ask the folks in downtown KCK how that worked out for them. The experiment failed and was torn out several years later.
CrazyDiamond (anonymous) says…
And, check with the folks in Boulder, Colorado. That experiment failed and was.... oh wait a minute.
woodenfleaeater (anonymous) says…
Crazydiamond. I was writing about Pearl Street in Boulder as I saw your comment. Pearl Street is horrible. All it does is serve as a great place to meet, hang out, have a few drinks, shop, eat and kill time when need be. Who would want that kind of thing in Lawrence????
CrazyDiamond (anonymous) says…
Woodenfleaeater.Thank you for checking me, I'm not sure what was going through my mind. I also forgot about all of the visitors it would attract. Who would want them and their out of town/state dollars. Clearly I must have been thinking, and for that I apologize. I'll try to be a good mid-western citizen from now and quit looking around.
woodenfleaeater (anonymous) says…
Mooch-"I am ready to deck the next unbathed drunk that askes me for money"What about a "bathed" drunk?
beatrice (anonymous) says…
As long as they are still strict on the curbside vomiting rules, I don't see a problem.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
"Spiderman was not banned, by the way; he requested removal of his profile."You know, I thought the average IQ in here had taken an uptick lately.
Andini (anonymous) says…
"Spiderman was not banned, by the way; he requested removal of his profile."Yeah right. That's like telling people you were laid off when you actually got fired.
not_dolph (anonymous) says…
Funny, I thought I remembered the online moderator commenting one time that they do not remove "users" just because they request to be removed. Or perhaps that was a comment made by our departed friend spidey. Either way, the sun seemed a bit brighter today, the cows a bit moo'er and the grass a bit greener.Guess I'll take my toys and go home for a while...until it is time to come out and play again.
baristajames (anonymous) says…
"I seldom go there as I am ready to deck the next unbathed drunk that askes me for money, in addition to doing my best the shield my children from these people for a little while longer." Are you serious? Bums are a fact of life, and they while a little testing once in a while are not dangerous for you or your children. How about giving your children a little culture so that they don't grow up like you; afraid of everything foreign. Drink outside is a classy thing, the Pig had done it for years with no problems at all. It is up to the bars to make sure that people behave themselves. Locking people who drink inside just makes them crazier.