Dunedin's inner-city alcohol ban area will soon expand to take in areas where drinkers pre-load before a night on the town.
Those include the "dark and dingy'' Dowling St steps and the car parks of two major city supermarkets.
Police say the result of their use is an increase in disorder and fights, and they need another tool to stop the problems.
The Dunedin City Council voted unanimously to provide that tool at a full council meeting yesterday.
The council debated a change to its liquor bylaw that would expand the ban area east to Cumberland St and west to Smith St, taking in View St and surrounds, which have experienced alcohol-fuelled disorder in the last few years.
The "minor'' extension would, for the first time, include inner-city car parks not owned by the council.
Before councillors got stuck into the debate, they heard from alcohol harm prevention officer Sergeant Ian Paulin during a public forum.
Sgt Paulin said the alcohol ban had been "a useful tool'' for police, but times and drinking patterns had changed in Dunedin, while the alcohol ban area had not.
There were areas police had noticed an over-representation of alcohol related harm.
They included View St and Tennyson St, areas that had cropped up in media reports in the last few years.
The Dowling St steps, a "dark and dingy area'', was a place where a lot of people drank before heading into town, as was the area of Dowling St above the steps.
Sgt Paulin said the central city car park outside Countdown supermarket had been "one of our worst areas for alcohol harm''.
That was due to nearby licensed premises that recently closed, but there were still a lot of people "parking up'' before heading to city bars.
"As a consequence we have disorder and fights.''
Similar problems occurred at the New World car park further north, by Henry's liquor store, was another site where similar problems occurred.
"The licensee of Henry's can attest to numerous people walking out of his premises and drinking right out in front.''
Minor changes to the alcohol ban area would "have a real impact on alcohol harm in the central city''.
During debate, there was concern among councillors about making sure people knew when they were crossing into the area where drinking was banned.
Council services and development general manager Simon Pickford told Cr Andrew Whiley getting that across was the hardest part.
"That's something we will look at, communicating when you are in an alcohol ban area.''
The council voted to approve the extension.
The next step was for staff to amend the bylaw, and publicly notify the changes.
The extension would take effect 14 days after it was notified in the Otago Daily Times.
The council also noted staff would prepare a report for next year considering a "more significant'' extension into North Dunedin.
