Through online surveys, the City of Guelph is asking residents for feedback on whether or not it should allow drinking alcohol in public parts and if smoking in public should be more restricted in the city.
The provincial government opened the door for municipalities to allow for drinking alcohol in parks shortly before it broke for the summer, said Dave Wiedrick, manager of bylaw for the City of Guelph.
As it stands, drinking alcohol in parks is still not permitted unless a municipality decides to allow it within its borders.
“Every municipality can have a different rule,” said Wiedrick.
Guelph City Council asked staff to come back with a recommendation on whether or not to allow drinking alcohol in city parks and a working group was struck.
The initial gut reaction around the table was a resounding no, said Wiedrick.
“Everyone thought it was like walking around with an open bottle of beer,” he said.
Taking a closer look at similar bylaws in other jurisdictions made the working group think about examining the issue further. In Quebec, for example, you can drink in a park — but only with a meal.
“A meal is not with chips, it’s a bona fide meal,” said Wiedrick.
“If you live in an apartment building and you’re having family over, could you go to an area that’s allowed and get a barbecue and a picnic table and have a cold beer or some wine as you’re having a meal with your family? It’s something to consider,” said Wiedrick.
City staff has put a survey online to gauge the interest of Guelphites on the possibility of allowing drinking in parks.
“There is no direction with this, it’s just taking the temperature of the public with this,” said Wiedrick.
The survey will be available online until Oct. 13.
A similar survey is also being conducted about whether or not the City of Guelph should add greater restrictions to smoking in public, like in parks or at transit stops.
The City recently enacted bylaws to mirror the province’s Smoke Free Ontario Act, said Wiedrick. This now allows local police and bylaw officers to enforce the smoking bylaws.
The smoking survey asks respondents what smoking products people have used in the last 30 days and what restrictions, if any, they think should be put in place.
Wiedrick said smoking includes tobacco, vaping, hookahs and cannabis.
After the surveys end on Oct. 13, the working group will consider the findings and report back to council. Wiedrick said that will likely happen in early 2020.
