Going to Fort Lauderdale beach can be quite awesome.
Not so awesome, however, is the ban of allowing alcohol on the beach.
Sitting on the sand by the water is an activity that needs to be done with booze, damn it!
But there seems to be some good news on the horizon as commissioners are planning to propose allowing A1A beachfront restaurants to sell alcohol and allow people to take drinks onto the beach for proper consumption.
The plan is to allow permits to serve alcohol and food to A1A hotel guests and for certain areas to be designated as It's Totally Cool to Drink on This Part of the Beach zones.
The service would be available between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., and the food and beverage containers would be recyclable.
However, not everyone is down with having booze on the beach, in fear that the city won't be able to control it.
"I don't think it's a good idea for that reason, because you can't control it," said one beach resident.
Still, others are onboard with the idea of being able to get liquored up (drink responsibly!) while enjoying an afternoon on the beach.
"My wife and I and our friends are wine drinkers," Lindsey Stott said. "We'd love to take advantage of this and sit and enjoy a nice meal with a glass of wine. Everyone's afraid of people going on the boardwalk all drunk, but it won't be like that. Restaurant patrons will not be drunken 20-somethings."
"This would allow for the sale of alcohol beverages in proposed zones and also allow visitors who choose not to purchase alcoholic beverages from a hotel/restaurant to bring their own beverages to the beach," City Manager Lee Feldman wrote about the proposal.
"Fort Lauderdale beach is a world-class destination," said Aiton Yaari, a member of the beach business district committee. "We want to be something special. We want to be like Saint-Tropez."
Fort Lauderdale has a ways to go to be like Saint-Tropez on many levels. But lifting a ban on booze on the beach is definitely a start.
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