{"id":61818,"date":"2021-05-31T10:25:02","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T16:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=61818"},"modified":"2021-07-26T14:46:57","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T20:46:57","slug":"calgarians-can-drink-in-parks-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2021\/05\/31\/calgarians-can-drink-in-parks-this-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Calgarians can drink in parks this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Consuming alcohol in Calgary’s park:<\/strong> The photo of a random picnic area in Tuxedo Park in Calgary is taken on Wednesday, May 25, 2021. Under bylaw, Calgarians can drink alcohol in public this summer and specific parks still to be determined and will be announced soon. (Photo by Ngoc Man Loi\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

C<\/span>algarians will be able to freely consume alcoholic beverages at some public places this summer.<\/p>\n

O<\/span>n May 12, the pilot project was approved by Calgary city councilors to give Calgarians the opportunities to get outside during the current pandemic time.<\/p>\n

Under the bylaw, which will come in force on June 1, consumption of alcoholin Calgary\u2019s city parkis allowed from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Users must reserve a designated place for alcohol consumption. They may only use this place for a maximum of two hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opportunity to get outside during a pandemic really turns this into the mental health coping strategy,\u201d said Gian-Carlo Carra, the Ward 9 councilor who proposed for the pilot project, in an interview with Global News.<\/a><\/p>\n

Although Cara said that he hasrecieved enthusiastic supports for this project, some citizens have concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cTying into COVID-19, it\u2019s a little concerning,\u201d said Karen Kimmel, owner of Sanktjuri-buks book store. \u201cThere is a lot of stuff I feel need to be flushed before this pilot project can start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kimmel considersthat policing would be the biggest challenge for this project. When alcohol is involved, people aren\u2019t always in control and things can go wrong. Will Calgary Police Service patrol every one of these locations now?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of extra strain on our police force,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Kimmel thinks that \u201cthey are opening a Pandora\u2019s box that hasn\u2019t been planned out.\u201d She is particularly concerned about minors hanging out and drinking in the parks.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Respond from Twitter:<\/strong> A screenshot of Brian Mc on Twitter respond to the City of Calgary about the Pilot Project on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. The Pilot Project will be officially run from June 1 to Sept 7. (Photo by Ngoc Man Loi\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At least one mother agrees with Kimmel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I am a teenager\u2019s mom, I won\u2019t feel safe when I leave my kids out side,\u201d said Hien Phung, a nail technician.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if there are any people support this, but I am not in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She says that people are high-temper and emotional when they get drunk, and quarrels might be happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat not only will cause disorder in public places, but will also make people around feel uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the City said that all the COVID-19 restriction must be followed, Hien worries if people will follow the rules properly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey probably do not drink just by themselves, so does that mean they are gathering?\u201d Hien said.<\/p>\n

Some minors have concerns too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally would have voted against,\u201d said Ethan Nasr, currently a high school student.<\/p>\n

Nasr thinks that alcohol should only be consumed in private places. He is concerned about parents who would never want their kids to be exposed to people who might be drinking pr drunk.<\/p>\n

Opponents of the plan are particularly concerned about safety at night, when more accidents and incidents- are likely to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019d be a disturbance and annoyance,\u201d said Nasr.<\/p>\n

While acknowledgingcitizens\u2019concerns, Mayor Naheed Nenshi is somewhat supportive of the project and curious about how it will go.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am interested in pilots, and I\u2019m interested I trying things,\u201d said Nenshi, in an interview with Global News.<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Under the bylaw, the project will officially run from June 1 to Sept. 7. It will be discontinued if there are persistent complaints about drinking in public.<\/p>\n

Specific locations still to be determined and will be announced soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Calgarians will be able to freely consume alcoholic beverages at some public places this summer. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S1 Alcohol Consumption ","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[1290,110,123,1009,1542,634],"class_list":{"0":"post-61818","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-news","7":"tag-alcohol","8":"tag-calgary","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-student","11":"tag-summer","12":"tag-yyc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61818"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62267,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61818\/revisions\/62267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}