If You Can't Take the Heat...

At 2 a.m. on any given night in Seattle, one can expect to see dozens of drinkers spill from bars and nightclubs onto the street. They stagger, yell, stumble and screech their way home, making quite a ruckus.

I myself am personally acquainted with this phenomenon, since I live right on Queen Anne Avenue, with my bedroom window conveniently facing the street. Quite often I am awoken at 2:15 a.m. – And my only reaction?? “YES… I still have 5 hours of sleep left before I have to get up and go to work…”

But when reading the Seattle Post-Intelligencer yesterday, I found that many other residents are not so nonchalant about these late night bar hoppers bound for their beds. And apparently, the city is seeking a balance to keep the drinkers, bars and residents happy. Check it out here.

According to the article, neighborhood residents are “ticked off,” saying that what happens after last call is even more irritating that the noise pumping out of bars and clubs when they’re open. Well… yeah. I totally agree. When people (including me) leave the bars, they are completely obnoxious and oblivious to other people’s property. They dance, sing, yell, fall over, and even occasionally vomit (or pee) on the sidewalk. (Man, I’m loving my 20’s!)

As quoted from the P-I: “They’re out having a good time and they have no respect for the residents… Consequently, they think it’s great fun to rip up the landscape and destroy things.”

Well, I wouldn’t necessarily say that we ENJOY destroying things, we just don’t know any better at the time… And we’re having too much fun!

Regardless, here’s my point: If a person is bothered by noise, they wouldn’t choose to buy a house underneath a freeway overpass, or near a train crossing, correct? Similarly, why would someone on the hunt for peace and quiet buy a home near a bar in downtown Seattle? Do they really expect silence in the middle of the night, in the middle of urban paradise? Move to the suburbs if that’s the kind of lifestyle you want!

But Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels wants to find peace between bars and the people who live near them. Under a new proposal, the city would create a nightlife license, under which bars would agree to a series of “good neighbor” conditions regarding residents. I have to agree with Pete Hanning, owner of the Red Door in Fremont, who says that what happens away from the bars is not the owners’ problem.

The only good idea brought up in the P-I’s article was this: Eliminating the 2 a.m. cutoff on selling alcohol, which would help avoid binge drinking, and dumping bar patrons onto the streets all at once. This sounds like a great idea to me, since I am often with friends who cram five or six shots down their throats at 1:45, just to polish of the night right. Somehow I doubt the city will go for this though.

Frankly, the entire article kind of annoyed me. I can’t believe people would be so naïve to move into a neighborhood filled with bars and expect not to hear the boozers on their way home. This seems like an “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen” situation to me.

If people can’t enjoy and appreciate the vivacious nightlife that Seattle has to offer, then move your white picket fence, 2.5 kids and your Volvo to Suburbia, pronto.