Streets full as bars now close
THE introduction of earlier closing times in Invercargill bars had resulted in a bottleneck of people swarming on to the streets at 3am, with trouble ensuing, a taxi boss said.
tu blogThe Invercargill City Council last year decided to force inner- city bars to close at 3am instead of 4.30am.
The policy came into effect two weeks ago. But 3am closing last Sunday had resulted in the masses leaving bars together, with an unprecedented 35 to 40 people queuing for taxis at one Tay St depot about 3am. A brawl had erupted between several men, which spilled tu blog into the taxi depot's main foyer, Blue Star Taxis general manager Keith Henderson said.
tu blogPolice Inspector Olaf Jensen, of Invercargill, said he expected there to be a bedding-in period before people began leaving bars a little earlier to avoid the congestion. "It's about reducing violence in the inner city, and closing hours are one step in that process."
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