We sent this letter to the Board of Supervisors yesterday.
August 7, 2006
An Open Letter to the Board of Supervisors
Re: the Proposed Ban of Alcohol in the Parkway
Our organization [American River Parkway Preservation Society (ARPPS)] opposes the banning of alcohol in the Parkway during holiday periods, as it penalizes the many individuals, families, and group outings in which alcohol plays an enjoyable and responsible role in their recreation in the Parkway; to get at those few individuals who abuse alcohol.
The preferred method of dealing with alcohol abuse in the Parkway is through continued education about the dangers of over-drinking while around a river in which people drown regularly, and, most important, an increased police presence during holiday periods.
Sincerely,
Michael D. Rushford, President
Kristine Lea, Vice President
David H. Lukenbill, Treasurer/Senior Policy Director
Here is an excerpt from the article about the proposed ban.
New river alcohol ban weighed
County proposal targets 3 big holiday weekends on lower American River.
By Ed Fletcher -- Bee Staff Writer Published 12:01 am PDT Tuesday, August 8, 2006
Pick any summer weekend and you'll find hundreds of locals, young and old, floating, sunning, splashing -- and frequently boozing -- their way down the lower American River.
Most of these raft excursions end quietly enough. But after back-to-back July 4 weekends were punctuated by melees and police arrests, Sacramento County's Board of Supervisors is considering stepping up efforts to keep alcohol off the river on holiday weekends.
"It's become out of control," said board Chairwoman Roberta MacGlashan. "It creates unsafe situations."
A July 4 melee involving more than three dozen oar-wielding drunken rafters sent one man to the hospital. That dangerous event followed an incident the previous year resulting in 30 arrests and a county ban on alcohol at several locations.
The new ban would try to stop booze from making it onto rafts in the first place.
The proposed ordinance -- set to be considered by the board at 2:15 p.m. today -- would prohibit drinking alcoholic beverages or possessing an open alcoholic beverage container from Hazel Avenue to Watt Avenue on the summer's three major holiday weekends: Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day.
The parks director would have the authority to allow alcohol at some picnic areas.
The measure would direct the county legislative advocate to push for state authority to enforce the ban on water.
The county controls the shores, but the state rules the river. State law allows drinking alcoholic beverages on vessels, including rubber rafts.
