Edmonton councillors put alcohol consumption in parks program on hold – Edmonton | Globalnews.ca

Alcohol consumption will not be allowed in City of Edmonton parks again this summer, after a vote by city councillors Monday.

A pilot project started in May 2021 and ran until this past October, during which 47 picnic sites were designated for alcohol use in seven parks throughout the Edmonton river valley.

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Several surveys were done before and after the pilot to gather feedback. Those were presented to councillors Monday.

Council heard 3,868 people responded to the most recent survey, with 2,526 of them saying they had participated in the pilot.

Of the respondents who had participated, 53 per cent said they had very positive or somewhat positive experiences with the project and 12 per cent said they had very negative or somewhat negative experiences.

When it came to enforcement, the majority of issues happened in sites that were not meant for alcohol use: 1,664 violations were noted in non-designated areas. Those issues resulted in two tickets being issued.

There were 541 violations not related to alcohol — those issues included trash, dogs which were off leash in prohibited areas, or gatherings which were larger than health restrictions allowed.

Violations at designated sites were mostly for people using alcohol after hours. Council heard 245 warnings were issued at the designated sites.

City officials reported hearing that there was a lack of clarity around exactly where and when alcohol could be consumed.

Several speakers in front of councillors Monday expressed concerns with the project.

Jameela Murji said, as a Muslim woman, she already fears for her safety and that increased while using parks during the pilot project period.

Murji also described visiting a local park with her five-year-old child. She said an alcoholic beverage company was handing out free samples at the park and joked that her child was too young but handed the child a promotional beer cozy.

Several Alberta Health Services representatives also commented during the meeting.

Dr. Brent Friesen said there were significant negative health effects related to alcohol use and the AHS was not in favour of continuing the program.

Dr. Friesen said the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer agreed with AHS’ position.

“There is evidence that outdoor spaces are one of the more risky places for drinking and alcohol-related harms for both the person who is drinking and those who are not,” said Z’Anne Harvey-Jansen with Alberta Health Services.

Harvey-Jansen said councillors should not wait for issues to happen and then look for ways to solve those problems. Instead, Harvey-Jansen encouraged councillors to prevent problems from happening in the first place.

Coun. Erin Rutherford pointed out the city had worked to accommodate more licenced patios in the summer and she noticed her neighbours enjoying alcohol on their front porches over the summer.

Dr. Friesen pointed out the difference was that servers at restaurants are trained to monitor excessive alcohol consumption and there is a level of private responsibility when drinking at home. He said both were not the case with the park pilot project.

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Coun. Michael Janz attempted to make the program permanent and expand it to more sites throughout the city. His motion was defeated, as he was the only councillor in favour of it.

Instead, councillors voted in favour of a motion made by coun. Keren Tang. She asked administration to look into the implications of the pilot and develop a report on how to better make people feel safe in public parks.

That report is expected back in the third quarter of 2022, meaning alcohol will not be allowed in parks this summer.