Dallas’ Greenville Avenue becomes the area's epicenter of St. Patrick’s Day hoopla Saturday.
The annual parade runs north of Mockingbird Lane late morning and the after-parade street party throws down along Lower Greenville, when and where all manner of green shenanigans take place.
There are, of course, rules aplenty as enforced by Dallas’ Finest. Take care where you park and, more importantly, where you don’t.
The police want revelers to know that officers will be on the lookout for open containers of adult beverages outside the official party zones.
The enforcement of the open container laws will focus on “the main thoroughfares leading to and from the event,” First Assistant Chief of Police Charles Cato wrote in a memo to the Dallas city manager’s office. That means private parties in the surrounding neighborhoods and people trying to walk from an official party zone back to their cars.
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Police spokesman Kevin Janse, in an e-mail message to local media outlets, explained it like this: “In short, anyone observed actually consuming an alcoholic beverage outside the permitted event area is likely to be cited. Mere possession of an open container will not, in and of itself, lead to a citation or arrest.”
Cato also wrote that the increased enforcement this year will not be a “zero tolerance effort and officers, as in past years, will be directed to utilize discretion.”
Still, be on your toes. Dallas officers likely will be a little less tolerant than New Orleans cops who patrolled the French Quarter earlier this week.
Bruce Felps owns and operates East Dallas Times, an online community news outlet serving the White Rock Lake area. His open containers will be on his front porch.
