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Carbondale City Council Proposes Downtown Entertainment District

City of Carbondale All Ways Open
City of Carbondale
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explorecarbondale.com
The goal is to help support businesses offering live entertainment.

A proposed downtown entertainment district could be coming to Carbondale.

The Carbondale City Council is considering changes to city laws that would establish the district, where noise ordinances would be waived and public consumption of alcohol allowed during certain hours.

The entertainment district would create an area downtown to benefit businesses that provide live entertainment like music. Councilman Tom Grant said it shouldn't be seen as an invitation for people to just hang out and drink in public.

"It's more along the line of, there's a lot going on down there and I want to see maybe 3 different kinds of music, or sometime we may even have live entertainment that is not musical down there, and I want to be able to walk from one venue to the next with a drink in my hand," he said.

There was also debate over the hours, with Councilman Jeff Doherty objecting to a proposal to open the district at noon on weekdays.

"I'm afraid it might deter some people from coming downtown during those times, and I would much rather, during the week, starting it later in the afternoon, 4 or 5, actually when the entertainment establishments are open," he said.

The proposed changes will be sent back to city staff for review.

Steph Whiteside is a Digital Media News Specialist with WSIU radio in Carbondale, Ill. She previously worked as a general reporter at AJ+ and Current TV.
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