Raleigh City council members on Tuesday are expected to discuss a proposed smoking ban in Raleigh parks.
The ban was expected to pass two weeks ago, but council members had several concerns, which the Parks, Recreation and Greenway Advisory Board has been working to address.
The advisory board has spent the past two weeks researching how much it would cost to put up signs and possible punishment for violating the ban. They will present their findings Tuesday.
The ban would outlaw smoking in city-owned outdoor areas, including parks and greenways, and would cover all tobacco products, including chewing tobacco and snuff.
Raleigh city government tried to ban smoking in some parks three years ago, but lacked the legal authority to do so without approval from the General Assembly.
A new state law that banned smoking in indoor workplaces, though, allows local governments to ban smoking in public places.
“This is going to be an enforcement nightmare,” Councilman Thomas Crowder said earlier this month. “I think we need to have all these facts on the table.”
Councilwoman Mary Ann Baldwin said she was worried about heavy-handed enforcement that “causes more problems than we solve.”
Even after the information is presented to city leaders, some say they will still have a problem banning smoking in public parks.
“I’m a non-smoker, and I wish nobody smoked to be honest with you, but the freedom to do as you want to do, we ought to allow that it happen,” Councilman John Odom said.
source: wral.com
