Lafayette, LA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

§ 62-76 makes it unlawful to carry an 'open glass container', any unsealed glass, simulated-glass, or glass-and-plastic bottle holding a beverage, on public property (streets, sidewalks, parks, and parking lots owned or controlled by the city or any other government body within city limits) or on unenclosed private places open to the public, such as a restaurant patio or store lot. 'Beverage' is defined broadly to include alcoholic drinks over six percent alcohol by volume, beer and wine between one-half and six percent, and even plain soda pop, so the glass-container ban is not limited to alcohol.

Licensed manufacturers, importers, and dealers moving beverages in the course of their trade are exempt. Downtown Lafayette, the Simcoe-Surrey Street Corridor, and the McKinley Street Area operate under a separate and stricter open-container law, § 6-14, that reaches beyond glass. any day of the week; outside those hours, paper, plastic, or Styrofoam cups of alcohol are allowed on the sidewalk. Bars and restaurants in the district must post a 36-point 'PROHIBITIONS' notice at every exit. Festival International, Mardi Gras parades, Festivals Acadiens et Creole, and other city-sanctioned special events are exempted for their duration.