Main Street Port Clinton wants to cut out the ban on open containers in the heart of Downtown Port Clinton, providing a party atmosphere that now prevails in the Hensville Park area of Toledo and such major tourist attractions as Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

“Allowing residents and visitors to carry alcoholic drinks on some of the streets of Port Clinton would allow enhance our entertainment venues and keep people in town longer as they enjoy events and walk around downtown,” said President Nikki Adams of the Port Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce. “We’re proposing special hours for the MORA, which stands for the Main Street Outdoor Refreshment Area.”

Main Street Port Clinton debuted the MORA plan at the Port Clinton City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, and has already begun to draw up the parameters for the special area with Law Director George Wilber and Port Clinton security forces, including Port Clinton Police Chief Rob Hickman.

Adams acknowledged the party islands of Lake Erie — Put-in-Bay and Kelleys Island — have long banned open carry. She said, however, that chamber officials feel it would be a major bonus for Port Clinton.

Currently, only seven states lack open container laws that would otherwise prohibit drinking alcoholic beverages in public. The city of New Orleans lacks strict open container laws, but it does require people who drink alcohol on sidewalks and streets to do so only from plastic cups.