Penticton will be giving beach drinking a second go for this summer.

Council voted to go forward with another summer of allowing liquor at the lakes, with staff bringing back a report in November on how the season went.

Once the bylaw is adopted at council91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s next meeting, drinking will be allowed on Okanagan Beach east of Power Street, at Rotary Park, Okanagan Lake Park, Marina Park and Skaha Park from May 4 until Oct. 15, 2021.

As part of the trial for last year, it was found that the city would need to improve their clean-up capacity, with an additional $88,500 allocated for 2021. That money is set to purchase additional recycle and returnable beverage receptacles to supplement the existing receptacles, and supplementing the daily morning litter collection crew with an afternoon crew to address the increased accumulation of litter.

People will be able to consume alcohol in the designated public areas from noon until 8 p.m., the same restrictions as the previous summer.

The city had initially trialed the beach liquor through May and June, before extending it through to October.

Feedback from November, 202091ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s staff report to council found that RCMP did not see additional strain on their resources, while bylaw did find waste to have increased individuals who did not pay attention to the deadline or were committing acts of public urination.

Council had also received letters of support from Travel Penticton and seven local breweries to bring back the program for 2021.

Part of the funding will go to increased signage to address some concerns raised in that report.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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