Cocoa Beach To Consider Banning Alcohol on Beaches

Beachgoers enjoy a cold one at the end of Minuteman Causeway in Cocoa Beach. Florida.  Brevard Times File.

COCOA BEACH, Fla. -- City of Cocoa Beach Commissioners will consider options to tame rowdy behavior at the end of Minuteman Causeway, including possibly banning alcohol from that stretch of beach, during the Downtown Cocoa Beach Community Redevelopment Agency meeting at 6 p.m. tonight at City Hall.  

The beach party spot favored by many day-trippers from neighboring Orange, Seminole, and Osceola Counties has Cocoa Beach residents divided on the issue. 

Some residents complain of public urination, trash, traffic congestion, vandalism and drunk drivers while other residents say that it is just a few bad apples and that the laws already on the books should be enforced rather than adding more regulations. 

The economic costs and benefits also have the beach town divided.  Day-trippers spend money on parking, food, and alcohol at nearby businesses.  But some residents believe that the City's costs associated with the day-trippers (police, fire rescue, trash pickup, and wasted gas on congested city streets) outweigh those economic benefits.