I have returned recently to PB and found it disturbing that they've created this new ban. Once again we've surrendered another freedom in the pursiut of a "safer society". Police are omnipresent, patrolling the beach areas in the event of trouble. Is this all about their jobs becoming easier, so they might have to do something other than flirt with a pretty girl in a bikini? I doubt you'll stop drinking on the beach, considering that it doesn't take a genius to pre-mix screwdrivers in a thermos or liqour-up before getting on the sand in their car. Get real, this is about relaxing and having a great time...and this comes from a guy who hasn't had a drink in years!

Islandon, it never was about getting every drop of alcohol off the beach. It was about getting the raging keggers off the beach, and the problems caused by the out-of-control drunken behavior. Before the ban, cops could not cite or arrest a drunk until they did something to endanger themselves or others. The PD spent 20,000 extra officer-hours over budget each year in the beach community, babysitting drunks, giving free rides to detox, and taking rowdy drunks to jail. Now, police response times have decreased by a full minute in the beach areas, and by 30 seconds in the rest of the city. Are people going to sneak alcohol on to the beach? Of course. Are they gonna get out-of-control stinking drunk? Very seldom..and if they do, the cops have the time deal with 'em.

"Police are omnipresent?" Uh, no. Staffing levels in '08 were exactly the same as the prior two years. And beach staffing levels will be reduced over time, as police budget their manpower based on calls for service...and those have declined dramatically since the ban.
Beach attendance was down slightly (17%) at San Diego City Beaches last year. Up slightly this year, so far. Crime down 20% in the beach areas, underage drinking citations down 50% in Mission Beach and Bay, 75% in coastal PB (comparing 08 to 07). And most people obey the new law. Citations for having alcohol in a restricted area actually went DOWN in the first year of the beach ban, even though the restricted area was expanded to cover the sand. (Open containers were restricted in parking lots and the boardwalk, as well as streets and sidewalks--just like anywhere else in the city). It's too bad that people can't have a cold beer at the beach, because a few hundred thousand drunks could't control themselves..but the upside is that the cops now have more time to deal with other problems, and lifeguards can focus on job one--keeping people safe in the water.
And you can still enjoy a drink at OTL, the coming out party, and other organized events.
Get real..the beach alcohol ban was the best thing to happen to PB since the invention of sunshine. We GOT a safer society (no sarcastic quotation marks needed) in the form of faster police response times citywide, fewer impediments to lifeguards doing their job, and dramatically less underage drinking. On the non-safety side of the ledger, we GOT dramatically less trash on the sand, as well. The July 5th volunteer cleanup was a bust...we went from NINE TONS of trash on the beach to NO trash on the beach...and all the volunteers who showed up went through the neighborhoods instead to clean up those areas.
Welcome back. Obviously, you weren't in PB to see it turned into the cesspool of the west coast, so you may not understand the problems we were having. Yep, things have changed. The boardwalk doesn't smell like pee anymore, there's virtually no trash on the sand, you don't have to put up with a bunch of drunken frat boys throwing horseshoes at your head while you're relaxing on your towel, and if you need a cop or a lifeguard, they're now available to help solve whatever issue arises.
Of course, the streets of PB are still a cesspool on Friday and Saturday nights, thanks to all the nice friendly drunks who come down to do stuff that wouldn't be tolerated in their own neighborhoods.
EA

PB sucks.

shoot. u people have it so good there. the police practically turn the other way . here we cant drink anywhere , we are prisoners in our own nieghborhoods. cant drink at the park, we have like 1 bar. but a liqour store on every corner. but be damned if u try n walk to the store to get a drink. anytime a group of more than 2 people gather . the police roll up to investigate the suspicious activity. i go to adams ave street fair , chulas lemon festival . obs chili cook off. i see people free to come n go as they please. several alcohol areas doing brisk business. then i go to the imperial ave street fair or chicano park day celebration. and i see the venue fenced off, people being CHARGED to enter. NO alcohol ALLOWED. HEAVY POLICE PRESENCE with scowls on theyre MUGS. damn is this the 60s ?

Gee I wonder why?

All it takes are people with a huge sense of entitlement and no sense of responsibility or awareness of the impact of their behavior on others.

They have ruined the beach for the sane enjoyment of alcohol.

PB always was a little edgy (in the 60's saw a girl on reds fall face first in the sand) but for the most part, people got along. If someone wanted to imbibe, generally it was cool and they were cool.

Then came the crowds. In their own little worlds, they muscled in and drove the people out who couldn't tolerate their loud, obnoxious and aggressive behavior.

The last thing the lifeguards, or the cops want to do is deal with or babysit drunks. I'd much rather have my tax dollars go somewhere deserving and not to dealing with out of control idiot drunks on the beach.

I am vehemently against the beach ban. I am against open liquor laws in general. Everything that these laws are meant to combat is already illegal (drunk in public, minor in possession, etc.). I have been coming to Pacific Beach for decades, and have now been a resident for six years. I have seen the good and the bad of this community. As surrounding communities banned alcohol, the party got a bit more crowded here. So, I supported a more common sense approach of banning alcohol on holiday weekends and alcohol free zones on the beach. I feel the more common sense approach is to deal with the offenders rather than punish everyone. You deal with those offenders by increasing the penalties for alcohol related offenses, and perhaps licensing of alcohol consumption (losing it when you prove you don't deserve it).

I don't know where PB is going. I think that if everyone respected each other, we all could live in harmony. Now if we could just get less vacation rentals around here...