It’s official; Open containers of alcohol allowed on the Jacksonville Riverwalk

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Those looking to enjoy the Riverwalk downtown will now be able to do so with drinks in hand.

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Earlier this year the Jacksonville City Council passed an ordinance allowing alcohol in legally designated areas at the Northbank and the Southbank of the St. Johns River.

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“If it helps liven up the place downtown and Southbank, I’m all for it,” Jacksonville resident Julia Afanasyeva said.

But to be legally compliant, those looking to drink in designated areas must get specific plastic cups with the Riverwalk logo from businesses participating in the program. Some of those include the Chart House, Double Tree by Hilton, the Southbank Hotel, Hyatt Regency, and Morton’s Steak House.

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The areas highlighted in green on the map below show where you can drink along the river.

Each person can have up to two to-go cups at a time with any drink -- beer, wine or spirits.

“I think it’s a great idea, Charlotte Matousova, a visitor to the area said.

Matousova used to live in Europe, but now resides in New York. She said she’s familiar with these programs already.

“In Europe, it’s very common as well as in New York, so it can bring more people to go outside,” Matousova said.

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But not everyone is happy with the decision. Some are concerned the change could potentially lead to underage drinking.

“Having kids amongst alcohol -- exposing them to alcohol -- I don’t think that is a family-friendly initiative,” Bryan Casimir, who lives in Jacksonville said.

Visit Jacksonville is partnering with the city, the Downtown Investment Authority, and Downtown Vision to make this happen.

Visit Jacksonville President and CEO Michael Corrigan released the following email statement:

“The St. John’s River is one of Jacksonville’s signature landmarks and having a Riverwalk allows people the opportunity to access and enjoy our river. Now having an open container area, visitors and locals can enjoy a walk along the river with their favorite beverage, similar to other cities who have the same ordinance. We were immediately supportive of this idea that gives visitors another great reason to head to our Downtown.”

Afansayeva has enjoyed the monthly Sip and Stroll on the Southbank and hopes this program opens the door for even more events.

“I would love to have this more often than just once a month,” she said. “For example, my boyfriend and I were looking this month, and it’s canceled until September, so we were like, bummed out because nothing is going on. I feel like summer is a good time to have it.”

You can drink on the Riverwalk everyday of the week starting at 11 a.m. up until 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday and until midnight, Friday through Saturday.

But you can only use the cup one day at a time because the businesses will be signing and dating them.

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Afanasyeva thinks this will help regulate the program, but she is worried about how the plastic waste could affect the environment.

“We would definitely need more trash cans to contain the trash and the plastic from going into the river, which could be especially bad with people drinking and just tossing it everywhere,” she said. “That would be, probably be problematic.”

Action News Jax checked all the businesses on the list and so far Chart House and the Hyatt Regency are the only locations with the cups right now. Other businesses either didn’t comment or said they are expecting to get the cups this week.

For more on the rules and regulations to enjoy taking a drink out to the Riverwalk, click here.

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