Currently, last call is at 1 am and bars close their doors at 1:30. A soft closing would extend closing for a certain period of time--usually 1 hour-after last call. No alcohol would be served but customers would be allowed a longer period of time to linger. It's usually a voluntary policy and bars and restaurants are free to decide whether or not to have extended hours. This type of policy is in place in cities such as San Jose, CA.
While people usually arrive at bars a little at a time, they all leave at once. The thought behind a soft closing is that customers would now have a longer time frame in which to finish up and leave, creating a trickle rather than a flood. This can reduce crowding on the sidewalks, spillover into the streets, altercations due to overcrowding, and make it easier for people to catch cabs.
The city has asked for our input on the idea of soft bar closings. There is no specific policy proposal, they are simply asking our thoughts. We encourage everyone to take the survey and are especially interested in hearing from bars and restaurants that any future policy may directly affect.
Please take a moment to fill out the following survey:
http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e7qbdmdkhiddiwf6/a016xhiest5fv/questions
