The City of New Haven announced it is establishing two designated outdoor refreshment areas (DORAs) along Broadway as far north as Powers Street and as far south as Schnelker Park. The Norfolk Southern Railroad will split the two DORAs into a northern DORA and a southern DORA.
City officials said the train tracks will not be included in the DORAs, saying in a statement “alcoholic beverages are not permitted on, over or beyond the train tracks.”
DORAs are designated public areas where adults over the age of 21 can drink alcoholic beverages outdoors from approved vendors.
The New Haven press release said the city established the DORAs to increase foot traffic to local businesses and create a “greater sense of engagement and entertainment throughout the community.”
City officials said the DORAs will operate from 6:00pm to 11:00pm from the beginning of August to the end of May and from 11:00am to midnight each day from June to July.
New Haven’s DORAs came about five months after Fort Wayne established a DORA in its downtown. New Haven officials said much like Fort Wayne, DORA beverages will be served in a special designed cup, per state requirements. The city said it was still designing that cup and the signage to identify the DORA perimeter.
The City of Huntington created a subcommittee to explore creating a DORA of its own.
Huntington Mayor Richard Strick said its DORA would include the downtown area and would only be enacted by request from event organizers in downtown Huntington. He said the city wants to use its DORA to promote downtown and the events it hosts.
Strick said the Huntington City Council tabled approving its DORA to give officials more time to gather information. He said the proposal stretches Huntington’s DORA from Warren Street to Cherry Street east to west and from Park drive south to the river. The council is scheduled to discuss it again at its next meeting.
