The Essex Region Conservation Authority is considering banning cigarette smoking at some of its outdoor facilities.
ERCA’s administration will submit a report on the possibility of a smoking ban. It will go to the board for consideration at the next meeting in October.
ERCA chair Joe Bachetti thinks a compromise, like a designated smoking area, might be a good idea.
“We have to have a mix,” says Bachetti. “People who smoke, they can no longer go to a park. There has to be a balance.”
Windsor Essex County Health Unit officials say they want to create as many smoke free places as possible in Essex County and the conservation areas are a logical next step.
“We would love to see ERCA take a leadership role and sort of show what a wonderful community and healthy and safe community we are,” says Kristy Mcbeth, health promotion division manager.
The issue has been debated by several councils in Essex County. Smoking is banned from Lakeshore outdoor facilities and partially banned in LaSalle. The notion has been rejected in Leamington and Essex.
ERCA owns or manages 19 publicly accessible properties, totaling more than 1000 hectares of land, as well as nearly 100 kilometres of trail.
