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Public drinking bans take effect

Meanwhile, stricter littering laws result in hundreds of violations

By Kimberly Hiss
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
July 9th, 2008 issue

No booze allowed



Busiest Prague 1 sites where public alcohol consumption is now banned
By the National Theater and Národní street
Na Příkopě street
Uhelný trh
Wenceslas Square
Hradčanské náměstí
Na Kampě
Betlémské náměstí
Behind the Old Town Hall on Old Town Square

Prague residents and visitors are spending the first half of July adjusting to a new code of conduct on the city streets. The July 1 enactment of a revised littering ban was closely followed by the July 7 enactment of new restrictions on public alcohol consumption.
While it’s too early to gauge the effects of the drinking regulations, the week-old littering ban has begun to produce results.
Calling the clean public spaces laws a means of “keeping streets, sidewalks, public transit stops and parks cleaner,” Prague city police spokeswoman Radka Bredlerová said the majority of violations so far have involved the improper disposal of food as well as, “cigarette butts and chewing gum, or citizens not cleaning up after their dogs.”
As of press time, a total of 411 violations had been reported by police. In 264 of those cases, police simply spoke with the offender and urged him not to repeat the violation, while 113 cases resulted in fines (totaling 45,800 Kč to date), and 34 involved further proceedings.
The new laws include bans on littering, public excretion and failure to clean up after dogs. Such offenses could result in up to a 1,000 Kč ($66.60) fine on the spot, or up to a 30,000 Kč fine if the case goes on to involve administrative proceedings.
But city councilor for the environment and Green Party Deputy Chairman Petr Štěpánek is quick to point out that the littering laws are nothing new.
“They are 95 percent similar to the laws that have been in effect since 1980,” he said, adding that the laws had only recently been modified in order to keep up with changing times. “Society is different, the system is different, so we needed to update the laws.”
As far as public awareness of the new rules, Bredlerová speculates that most residents know of the stricter ordinances.
“Generally, we can say that, thanks to the attention the media paid to this public law, the citizens started to discuss it and therefore more people seem to be familiar with it,” she said.
Štěpánek added that adhering to the laws takes little more than a degree of common sense anyway.
“The guidelines are simple,” he said. “Don’t do anything you wouldn’t do in your own living room.”
While the July 7 bans on public drinking in designated areas are too young to have produced results, officials are hopeful they’ll achieve the desired effect.
“Citizens should not be afraid of this law,” Bredlerová said. “It aims to solve problems connected with drinking in certain public spaces, especially those places where a number of not socially integrated citizens hang out and who, after they drink, tend to bother other citizens, litter or use the street as a bathroom.”
Calling the law an “experiment” modeled after bans in places such as New York City, Štěpánek hopes that, as a result of the ban, “the negative aspects of drinking in public will be decreased.”
According to City Hall, the new drinking law bans the consumption of alcohol within 100 meters (328 feet) of schools and other educational centers, healthcare facilities, metro entrances, public transport stops and children’s playgrounds. Fines are similar to those being imposed for the littering ban (up to 1,000 Kč on the spot; up to 30,000 Kč if administrative proceedings ensue), but will not apply to beer gardens or food stands allowed to sell alcohol, or at times of festivals such as New Year’s celebrations.
As far as knowing where the bans are in effect, Štěpánek said that, in the future, such areas will be better marked, but for now it is the individual citizens’ responsibility to be familiar with the law.
“People will have to check the bylaw to know what it is,” he said, pointing out that the rules are listed on the government Web site.
City Hall will monitor the progress of both the littering and drinking laws, and will assess their effectiveness in July 2009.
— Hela Balínová and Nina Hoťková contributed to this report.

Residents react

“I fully agree with all of it. The regulations should be even tougher. I mean, do people throw cigarette butts in their living rooms?”
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Milan Štraširybka, Prague, civil service employee
“The new regulations are way too strict. It’s all stupid. The police and the city should have much more serious things to worry about, and not waste their time on such insignificant details.”
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Josef Rieger, Jílemnice, research worker
“It is sad that there even has to be such regulations reinforced by law. People should be well-behaved and well-mannered on their own, from their upbringing.”
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Hana Orregová, Kladno, unemployed
“It is good that the regulations are much stricter. … The police sometimes ignore too much; they should really monitor and not pass over things.”
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Linda Kotková, Prague, nurse

Kimberly Hiss can be reached at news@praguepost.com


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