Another classic shot from Seattlest Flickr Contributor pdgibson

In 2006, in hopes of decreasing public drunkenness, the Seattle City Council passed a ban on certain "highly fortified" alcoholic beverages in a number of Seattle neighborhoods. The controversial bans created "Alcohol Impact Areas" (AIA) in neighborhoods including Capitol Hill, the Central Area, Lower Queen Anne, SoDo, and the University District. As specified in the original ordinance, in these neighborhoods and these neighborhoods only stores were restricted from selling "low-cost, highly fortified beer and wine," which city officials believe to be favored by "the people who are chronically drunk on city streets and sidewalks."

Yesterday, the Seattle City Council issued a report on the program, saying the effects of the AIAs were inconclusive at best. Bob Scale, policy adviser to Mayor Nickels, said of the bans, "Effectively, it's a meaningless restriction at this point."

The study, which was finished in late 2007, reported that while police responded to fewer cases of public drunkenness, medics responded to more of these calls after the AIA were expanded. And this statistic was true throughout King County, not just the areas where restrictions were in effect. There is no word yet how or if the study's findings will change the restrictions and Alcohol Impact Areas.