Members of the Raleigh City Council voted Tuesday afternoon to extend the curfew for outdoor seating downtown to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
This decision loosens the restrictions the council put in place back in August. Initially, council member majority was in favor of requiring bars and restaurants that use public sidewalk space for seating to close the outdoor areas at midnight Sunday through Thursday and by 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
This sparked much controversy among business owners downtown who argued the restrictions negatively impacted their revenue and employee’s wages.
Deputy Police Chief Joseph Perry said that since the initial curfew was implemented in August, Raleigh has seen 32 percent fewer quality-of-life infractions such as public urination, noise complaints and indecent exposure.
On Tuesday, the City Council decided to push back the sidewalk patio curfew after a 6-2 vote and a lengthy discussion regarding the effectiveness of the curfew.
Council members also approved a staff recommendation to hire two more inspectors to help enforce the city’s outdoor seating ordinance.
Zack Medford, downtown business owner and a driving force behind the Keep Raleigh Vibrant campaign, was happy with Tuesday’s results and said that young people were essential in swaying the members of City Council.
“I think that Raleigh has never seen the level political engagement from young people in local government before,” Medford said. “These past few months have proven that young people in Raleigh deserve a seat at the table when it comes to how our city is run. Groups like YGA and Keep Raleigh Vibrant spent countless hours registering students and young people to vote, encouraging them to get to the polls for this election and make their voices heard to this city’s leaders. Those leaders heard us, and today showed they’re starting to listen.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, the City Council also unanimously voted to impose a $5 flat-rate fee for city parking decks on Fridays and Saturdays. The parking fee, which is designed to raise money for maintenance, is slated to go into effect after Dec. 31 and will not apply to street parking.
