By Roy Wood, Special to the Times Chronicle
Visitors and locals enjoying Gyro Beach this summer will likely be able to legally consume an adult beverage or two as part of the experience.
Osoyoos town council last week directed administration to “explore a bylaw and pilot project to allow alcohol consumption on Gyro Beach, with the stipulation of no glassware.”
In proposing the project, Councillor Johnny Cheong said many other municipalities allow such consumption, “including Penticton, which allows drinking on both its main beaches.”
Cheong said, “As we know, there is alcohol consumption on the beach. People are very respectful of it. And we do a great job with education. But the worst offenders don’t care if there’s a bylaw.
“By having a bylaw that allows alcohol consumption, I feel like it contributes positively to our tourism and takes that negative association away from patrons who just want to enjoy a beach day.
“Obviously, we should have a stipulation that does not allow glass wear, for safety reasons.”
He said the “pilot” aspect of the project would allow the town to gather data to use, along with data from other jurisdictions, to assess the viability of such a policy.
Mayor Sue McKortoff supported the idea: “I do know that the police understand that there is drinking down there … but when people are very careful about what they’re doing and not being obvious and throwing beer cans and beer bottles around … If people are going to do this then they have to be respectful of others and careful about it.
“But, it works in other places, and I totally agree with this. Let’s give it a try.”
CAO Rod Risling told council that preparing such a bylaw would be a pretty simple task for administration. There would need to be additional signage at the beach, along with public education and clear delineation of the boundaries of the beach.
