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The state of the alcohol-soaked ByWard Market was the subject of an unusual liquor licence hearing Tuesday as residents argued it’s time to halt the transformation of the area into a “monoculture” of bars, restaurants and nightclubs.

They told a licence appeal tribunal that what is supposed to be a mixed-use neighbourhood of homes, shops, restaurants, bars and farmer’s stalls has reached a dangerous tipping point.

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The increasing number of bars and nightclubs, clustered around Clarence and Dalhousie streets, has turned the area into what one resident described Tuesday as “a drunk tank.”

“This monoculture is making the area unsafe for citizens like us,” said Sarah Jennings, a longtime commercial landlord in the area.

Jennings was among a handful of market residents and community association members to express their opposition to a liquor licence application made on behalf of an Ontario numbered company.