Town of Wolfville looking to curb excessive drinking

There's more than one kind of hangover that can follow binge drinking. Residents of Wolfville, N.S. say they're anxious to curb excessive drinking because it leads to noise and rowdiness creating ongoing headaches in the community.

As throngs of students prepare to flood Wolfville to attend Acadia University, a new committee, made up of residents, university and police officials, is looking for solutions to create quieter and calmer neighbourhoods.

They rented a booth at the farmer's market to garner ideas from the public Wednesday night.

Wolfville Mayor Bob Stead took part and said the committee has gathered some good ideas. 

"On organizing the landlords better, we're convinced that if you have a better quality place, you present it better and you manage it better that the students are likely to better respect it. Out of the dives and the hovels come the drinking problems and the behavioral problems," he said.

Stead says one bar owner has suggested staying open for awhile after alcohol stops being served to give customers time to chat, eat and decompress.

"His suggestion is, in by doing that, you don't turn a whole lot of people who have been drinking right up until the last hour service out into the street," the mayor said.

Wolfville town council said it hopes to have a report on how to improve the situation by December.

The school is also anxious to curb excessive drinking for safety reasons after a student died from alcoholic poisoning last year.

It announced last week that drinking would not be tolerated in dorm rooms during its welcome week.