WHAT IT WOULD DO? Make alcohol consumption illegal at city beaches, Mission Bay Park and coastal parks.

Before the San Diego City Council enacted a sweeping one-year trial ban, San Diegans had long enjoyed the freedom to drink alcohol in public parks and at city beaches. Although the ban was enacted as a response to a few high-profile instances of beach rowdiness that forced police officers to step in and regulate, councilmembers promised that the issue would be re-examined after the trial period to determine whether it was indeed a factor that led to safer public areas.

Now that the issue is in the hands of voters, however, the ban must be overturned, because a few isolated brawls are not reason enough to deny the vast majority of law-abiding citizens the ability to have a few beers at the beach on a Saturday afternoon.

An all-or-nothing ban is not the answer; instead, the city council should consider harsher penalties for alcohol-related public disturbances and ban binge-drinking tools such as kegs, ice luges, funnels and beer-pong tables.

They could even restrict overnight and holiday drinking. That way, the potential for alcohol-related disturbances is kept in check and citizens can still have a glass of wine at sunset — everyone wins.

Please, preserve San Diego tradition. Vote no on Proposition D.