Erie, PA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 704.01 (Consumption in motor vehicle; discarding containers)
- Fine range
- $10 to $300
- Jail exposure
- Up to 90 days
- Covered locations
- Streets, sidewalks, parks, public places, vehicles
- Adopted
- Ord. 54-1977, passed 8-10-1977
Summary
Erie makes it a crime to drink alcohol on any street, sidewalk, park or public place, or in a vehicle that's moving, parked or standing on a public way, and separately bans discarding open containers anywhere in the city outside a trash receptacle. A conviction carries up to $300 and 90 days in jail.
No person shall: (a) Consume an alcoholic beverage of any kind or description, as defined by the Liquor Control Board of Pennsylvania, while in or on a vehicle which is moving, parked, stopped or standing on any street, roadway or other public way in the City; or for the driver, owner or person in control of any vehicle to permit any person or persons to drink intoxicating liquor or fermented malt beverages therein or thereon, while the same is being driven, or is stopped, standing or parked on any street, roadway or other public way in the City. (b) Break, leave, discard or deposit in any manner any glass, bottle, glassware, can or container of any kind, make or description on any public street, sidewalk, parks, parking area or public places of any nature within the limits of the City except in designated containers.
Full Breakdown
01 that no person shall consume an alcoholic beverage, as defined by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, while in or on a vehicle that is moving, parked, stopped or standing on any street, roadway or other public way in the City, and it separately bars a driver, owner or person in control of a vehicle from permitting anyone to drink liquor or malt beverages in it under those same circumstances. The same section bars breaking, leaving, discarding or depositing any glass, bottle, can or other container on a public street, sidewalk, park, parking area or public place unless it goes in a designated container, so open-container disposal is regulated independently of the drinking itself.
The ordinance covers the full range of city-owned outdoor and quasi-public space rather than just roadways, meaning consumption is barred equally in a public park, on a downtown sidewalk, or in a parking lot open to the public, not only in traffic. It does not apply on private property such as a fenced backyard or the interior of a private residence, where state liquor law rather than this article controls. The prohibition dates to Ordinance 54-1977 and has not been narrowed since, so it remains a citywide, no-exceptions rule enforced by the Bureau of Police as a summary criminal offense rather than a civil parking-style ticket.
Violations & Fines
Section 704.99 makes any violation of Article 704 a summary offense punishable by a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $300, plus up to 90 days in jail, for either the public drinking or the open-container disposal violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I drink a beer while walking down the street in Erie?
Is it legal to have an open beer in my parked car in Erie?
What's the penalty for public drinking in Erie?
Does Erie's open-container law apply in my own backyard?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Erie
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