TRAVERSE CITY -- Before cracking open a drink outdoors this summer, Traverse City police say residents and visitors should check the signs.
Traverse City Police Captain Pete Simerson said every city park is labeled to show whether alcohol consumption is allowed there, and the full list of ordinances is posted on the city’s website.
“We’ve labeled each park to make it very simple, to see which ones that you can consume alcohol, and then which parks that you can’t,” Simerson said.
Open intoxicants on roads and streets are prohibited under Michigan criminal law rather than city ordinance, and can carry an additional penalty, Simerson said.
Alcohol purchased at a bar or restaurant also has to stay inside the establishment. Businesses hold liquor licenses that require drinks to be consumed on site, and violations can affect their livelihood.
“Sometimes people will try to take it out and you’ll see the staff at those bars say, hey, you can’t leave the bar with that alcohol,” Simerson said.
The exception is a social district, which Simerson described as a limited area on 8th street far from the front street crowds.
Other excemptions are buisnesses with roped patios.
He said those businesses work with law enforcement and the Downtown Development Authority to establish where customers can drink outside their buildings.
Anyone caught drinking where it is not allowed faces a misdemeanor, either as a city ordinance violation and/or under Michigan criminal law, Simerson said. In most cases, that means a ticket or two.
Being drunk in public is a separate matter.
Simerson said disorderly conduct falls under different ordinance and state law provisions.
Depending on the behavior, it could result in jail rather than a citation.
“Have fun, be responsible,” Simerson said. “If they need us, they can always call us.”