What can the Council do to support city vibrancy and minimise alcohol-related harm?

First let me say at the outset that I don't have a problem with alcohol use in moderation. I've been known to share a quiet beer after work or have a nice glass of Pinot Noir with a meal. What I do object to however, is the deeply ingrained culture of excess that is prevalent in certain parts of our society today.

I don't think we are going to change that culture overnight, because it is inter-generational and has a historical basis for a number of reasons. What we can do however is curb the opportunity for outrageous behaviour and reclaim the streets for the enjoyment of sober, law abiding people who are by far the majority of citizens.

After a number of negative personal experiences during the Sevens tournament over the last few years, I recently wrote an article suggesting it was time for WCC to look at whether this event was really something we needed in the city.

http://geniusnet.blogtown.co.nz/2013/02/09/why-the-rugby-sevens-must-go/

I'd like to see a public debate on whether we should keep the event in Wellington. For me personally, I tend to leave town for the duration or at least avoid going into the CBD. It concerns me that large numbers of Sevens visitors are often quite drunk during the middle of the day and wandering about the city, yet the Police are almost absent, because the main focus is the stadium.

I appreciate this is not a popular viewpoint, but I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in feeling that things have got a bit out of hand lately.

The harm stems from the people that take drinking too far. When they're stumbling and shouting along the street they put others off being there. When they fight they need emergency service resource. When they head home they leave bodily fluids and vandalism in their wake for others to clean up. Basically, when they're left unattended and to their own devices there's a chance they won't get home safely and others will get hurt.

Police (and door staff) already identify overly intoxicated and tell them to "go home" - that is the answer, "go home". But leaving it to the drunken individual is not the solution - they're drunk! There needs to be another option between being told to go home and arrest.

Take some money from liquor licensing to pay for a van + driver to pick up people identified by authorities as drunk/disorderly and take them home. It gets them off the street so it becomes a nicer environment. It gets them home without spoiling some taxi/bus drivers night. The police don't waste their time arresting people who would go home if they had an easier option than being a yob. They'll get home quickly and safely.

Not a luxury van, something resistant to abuse, and easy to hose down on the inside - low maintenance. It could even self fund if those getting the ride were issued tickets like a parking fine so they can pay for the ride home later.

Doubt this would work during an even like the Sevens though.

Interesting idea @simonmargrett - why don't you click "create new proposal" on the right and turn it into one?

If we consider running a publicly funded campaign to shift attitudes to alcohol, I think we should closely follow what the smokefree campaign has done. But instead of the shame game, work on the theme of 'Wasted'; that is get some non or moderate drinking celebs eg Jemaine, Cliff Curtis an All Black and a Diva like ladyhawke to make a statement about how they owe sucess to not being wasted. Makes them more fit or creative or ON whatever.

But this campaign would have to run for years not months. We should start in schools when kids are 13 rather than wait till the kids are 16 and trying to blag their way into bars.

It would be great to find out from young people what "the best fun you can have WITHOUT drinking" is, and share ideas. Because often young people are just bored and unimaginative. And if the goal is having the most fun then we should focus on that.

@simonmargrett You've correctly identified that a huge amount of resources and mess are left in the wake of drunks. Providing a free taxi service however seems like an ambulance at the bottom of a cliff. The real issue is inculcating a huge cultural shift away from glorifying drunkeness and over-indulgence.

I'd be surprised if there are any large cities in the western world, that don't have these kinds of problems - but it would be interesting to see if there are subtle cultural differences or if authorities have taken a different approach.

Interesting idea @paulspence - does anyone know of any examples of cities that seem to be doing a particularly good job with this issue? Maybe we can look around for some inspiration.

I think we are going to have to try a lot of different tactics to work what works for the young kiwi mindset. I think this discussion should also involve young revellers to help understand the root of the issue and discover the drivers. If we can shift the drivers then we can change the culture. I was thinking that the "world is watching" might be a powerful meme. I imagine sending out a team to film the tragic incidents as they unfold on the street and uploading the footage to you tube, and it could have a commentary over the top from a celebrity from overseas. This might create a bit of shame. A reality tv show might be better because you could interview the youth afterwards and get their reflections on what happened and what they could do to prevent it happening again. I think that when people are wasted they have no idea how tragic it looks from the outside and if done well, this could really show it in true light.

I thought that it would be great to make courtenay place a pedestrian mall on Friday and sat nights (get rid of posturing boy racers!), and revellers who fail a 4 drink breath test get kicked out. We could host (where the weta sculpture is) a dance competition with the solid gold dance machine providing beats or something else fun (ask adventure wellington to think of a game) that can be massive amounts of fun (and the point is you need to be relatively sober to enjoy it and participate in it).

We need to show alternative ways of having fun that rely on being functional. This might sound expensive, but only if we are not looking at a the other negative costs and impacts. if we do it well it could make our city a real safe destination for young people and it would be just reconfirming our status as a cool capital.

@paulspence by all means attempt a cultural shift but that won't deal with the problem of overly drunk people on the streets (though it might reduce the numbers). I do not propose a taxi service - it's like a parking fine but for people who are drunk and disorderly. Rather than spend the money and police time arresting the minority that take drinking too far they pay a ticketed fine which gets them a ride home in the "drunk van" (and funds the program).

@alannakrauseloomiohelper still not convinced it's worthy of a proposal :) Thoughts not entirely clear yet (no I haven't been drinking!) I want to speak to some police on the street Fri/Sat night and get their thoughts about a few things.

@megan1 +1 for Courtenay being pedestrianised in the evening. Or even permanent one way (pedestrianise one of the existing traffic lanes). The boy racers race more along Cambridge/Kent/Wakefield/Cable. How about decibel limits on exhausts and car stereos?!

This is a small thing, but I recently found out that the Halls of Residence (for 1st year uni students) have social nights at the Halls, these close down at 10pm, the students then have nowhere to go to keep socialising apart from their small rooms. So, they drink as much as they can up to 10pm (it's cheaper to preload on your own alcohol than buy in bars), then head off into town, into unsafe environments, to keep up the (often new and exciting) social activity. If Halls provided space for them to socialise until 12pm, many may decide to call it a night at that point rather than head into town. Also they wouldn't feel constrained to get drunk by 10pm, so they might drink more slowly.