Jerome Wright
City employs its customary quick-fix strategy with cover charge for Beale Street.
No one disputes that it is important to make the Beale Street Entertainment District as safe as possible.
It is the state’s most visited tourist attraction, luring some 1 million visitors yearly — tourists and locals — so no one here or in Nashville wants to see anything that could diminish that.
But when you have a venue where people are encouraged to drink alcoholic beverages and congregate, there will be occasional trouble, especially on a nice weekend night when the three-block district has people packed into it like sardines.
But those occasions are rare.
Still, two stampedes on the street May 29 — the latest in a string of at least 18 going back to 2013, according to former Beale manager and Downtown Memphis Commission head Paul Morris — and the death of Memphis police Officer Verdell Smith, who was run over by a shooting suspect fleeing in a car on Saturday night as officers were trying to clear the street, prompted officials to hold a news conference last week to talk about additional security measures for the district.
And, here is one of the things they came up with: a new $10 cover charge — called Beale Street Bucks — to enter the Beale Street entertainment district Saturdays after 10 p.m., which they believe will turn the iconic street into one of the city’s safest by reducing overcrowding and stampedes.
Come on, guys. Beale Street already is one of the safest, if not the safest, in the city. So is Downtown. The fee may have some impact on holding down the crowds, but $10 will is not be a big hindrance to young or older adults who want to hang out in the district.
It could also deter tourists.
Officials have tried to sugarcoat the cover charge by saying visitors will get some of their money back in the form of a $7 voucher, which would have to be spent that night. What’s wrong with that, you ask?
Some Beale Street merchants have been grousing about the crowds that pack the district not spending any money. That creates the perception that the charge is just a money grab.
In fact, seven Beale merchants have signed a letter opposing the program, and at least one merchant — Lucille Catron, owner of the Historical Daisy Theatre and executive director of the Beale Street Development Corp. — plans to file a lawsuit Monday in federal court to stop the charge.
Catron said putting a cover charge on a public street was like double taxation for residents and was unnecessary. “Surely we can provide enough security for the eight or 12 weeks in the busiest summer months,” she said after last week’s news conference.
That is a reasonable assumption, but this is a city that too often defaults to the quick fix rather than coming up with something sustainable.
Interim Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings made several recommendations, including electronic scanning at gates, issuing wristbands to make curfew violators easier to spot, ending alcohol sales after 3 a.m. and banning bottles from balconies.
He said strict enforcement of curfew ordinances and reinforcing the district’s barriers would begin immediately. Those are sustainable options.
Rallings said the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department has committed to placing 10 to 20 deputies in the district during peak attendance days. How that partnership will work is still being finalized, he said.
That sounds great, but Beale Street already resembles an armed camp on weekends and on nights when there is an event at FedExForum because of all the police officers and private security and police cruisers. I sometimes wonder whether the heavy police and security presence scares away some tourists.
It has been suggested that part of Beale Street’s problem is that it lacks a true identity. Does it want to be a mini version of New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, or the seemingly theme-less hodgepodge of restaurants, night clubs and souvenir shops it has become (which could explain why so many young locals are drawn to the street on weekend nights)?
Over the last two weeks, I’ve talked to a couple of event promoters who are used to maintaining safety at condensed venues that draw large crowds. Both said the problem is not Beale Street knowing what it wants to be, but its keepers not knowing how to manage. A $10 cover charge is not going to fix that.
Although it can be annoying, officers do a good job of screening visitors for weapons, enforcing the current curfew for minors and getting the occasional alcohol-fueled troublemaker under control.
I wonder, though, how many more incidents could be prevented if police beefed up patrols along streets around the district, where a lot of the trouble seems to start.
I realize this column is going to ruffle some feathers.
Trust me. I understand the importance of keeping the street safe. But, I sincerely believe there are more sustainable ways to control the crowds than a $10 coverage charge that will mostly benefit the merchants. Jerome Wright is editorial page editor for The Commercial Appeal. Contact him at jerome. wright@commercialappeal.com.