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Ottawa Citizen

Which Ottawa parks will councillors pick for alcohol pilot project?

Ottawa is launching a four-month pilot project allowing personal alcohol consumption in public parks. Article content The initiative, which starts July 1, was approved last week. Councillors will be able to propose in which — if any — parks or portions of parks in their wards they would like to see a project, or veto the idea if their communities are not interested. Article content Article content Under the Liquor Licence Act of Ontario, municipalities have the authority to designate public places where the consumption of alcohol is allowed under bylaws, which has prompted municipalities to consider amending their bylaws. In Toronto for example, 27 parks were authorized for alcohol consumption between August and October, expanding to 45 parks last year, with seven additional parks added this year. Article content Article content Based on councillor responses to a Postmedia survey about which parks they would like to see a pilot project, few are showing much enthusiasm. Of Ottawa's 24 councillors (minus George Darouze, whose Osgoode ward seat is now vacant after he departed for Queen's Park), nine councillors responded. Article content Article content Some were interested in giving the idea a try, some said they needed more consultation with residents and city staff, while others were full-out opposed. Article content Menard asked the city about doing a pilot project in March 2024. He was the only councillor responding to the survey to suggest a park in his ward for the project. Article content Councillors have to do their due diligence with city staff to determine which parks make sense for the pilot based on recommended criteria, such as parks that are well-lit and have bathrooms and water available, Menard said. Article content Article content 'Right now, we think the Great Lawn at Lansdowne would make a good candidate as a pilot, but we have yet to exchange full information with city staff on this,' he said. Article content Article content 'There are other parks in the ward we are considering as well, but this will be subject to discussion with community associations and city staff before a determination is made in advance of July 1.' Article content 'I am not prepared to speculate until I see which parks meet the criteria and do some outreach with our community associations,' Troster said in response to the survey.