I love George Street, and with great bars like The Dock and The Martinin Bar complimenting staple watering holes such as Trapper Johns and the good old reliable Sundance it ranks right up there with my love for Ron Hynes music, Chess' or our rugged coastline. It is a part of our culture and history and its reputation for music, laughter and entertainment has solidified it on the list of must see places on any excursion to St. John's. I worked there, socialized with life long friends there, and danced my butt off there. Whether it was to Matchbox 20, Meatloaf or Kenny Login's classic Footloose, George Street provided the perfect backdrop for some of my most memorable nights.

George Street is the exclamation mark on St. John's claim as being a great place to party with the friendliest people around. However, our bragging rights do not come without a price. A price highlighted around 3 am when the many haunts that make up George Street politely announce last call and begin to usher a group of intoxicated, highly voilatile people out onto the streets or our flagship of places to party. As one police officer has told me, George Street becomes one of the most dangerous one tenths of a kilometer in the country after the clubs close. This exasberation of violence in this achohol and drug driven social setting turns George Street into a type of ultimate fighting cage match where far to often one or more of the participants are unwilling to "get it on." Although this behavior is not isolated to George Street, it is still an unacceptable, overtolerated occurence that needs to be addressed.

So what is the answer? what has to be done to ensure downdown is a safe place to be or to bring a friend? Could closing the bars earlier be a partial solution? I know this would be a hard sell to bar owners who would protest that closing earlier means less money in the till at last call, or will it just have the violence starting earlier. Is staying open till three or four just plain ludricious or is it a neccessity to keep the economic engine or George Street running.

Bottom line, there is no quick fix but if former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani could clean up New York City's five Borroughs by putting a uniformed officer on practicely every corner, making George Street more user friendly can't be an impossible task. With this said however I can't help but feel empathy for the police and ambulance drivers who but themselves in harms way especially since the hoodlums who are parisites to George Street are no longer armed solely with alcohol as their fuel but are now high on a range of drugs that turn them into fighting machines with much higher pain theseholds and who know longer fall flat on their faces in a druken stupor after the first punch is haphazardly thrown.

Yes , I do love George Street, but until the senseless violence against unsuspecting male and female patrons stops, my advice for anyone who includes George Street in their repertoire of most visits on a busy night downtown, be home before the bell sounds at 3 am. you'll hail a cab alot quicker, and the hotdogs will be fresher!