Patios abuzz about smoking ban

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This article was published 18/04/2018 (2193 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Though it took effect April 1, a new Winnipeg bylaw banning smoking at outdoor restaurant and bar patios hasn’t caused all smokers to butt out just yet.

Winston Yee, the City of Winnipeg’s manager of bylaw enforcement, said in early March civic officers will work with operators during the first few weeks of the new provision to ensure compliance with the new rule.

City staff would only issue tickets for brazen, repeat violations at the outset, he said. (Yee wasn’t available for an interview to provide an update Thursday.)

At Bar Italia on Corydon Avenue last weekend, smokers continued to puff on the front patio. On the side patio Thursday, Garry Walker lamented over the fact he had to leave his friends and step across the street to have a smoke.

“I wish there was just designated smoking, a certain part of the area where people could have one,” Walker said.

“I’m sure they’re going to lose a lot of business. There’s going to be a lot of people putting cigarette butts – like, look at here already,” he said, pointing to butts littered around the Cockburn Street curb after the spring melt.

Walker’s non-smoking friend, Ken McKwen, took a big-picture approach.

“My mother-in-law, who escaped the Nazis, had a saying: ‘We all must learn to adapt to change,'” he said.

At Saffron’s Restaurant a few blocks down, owner John Kolevris said he is planning to create a designated smoking area behind his building. So far, clientele has been okay with moving over to smoke in the parking lot or on the sidewalk, he said, although smokers used to dominate much of his patio space.

Bars and restaurants will be allowed to maintain “smoking only” patios, only if the outdoor space is not tied to the operation’s occupancy permit, a city official previously told the Free Press.

Kolevris put up a bright blue sign on his front door warning smokers they could be fined $200 for violating the new bylaw. Establishments can also be fined $400 for failing to ensure no one smokes on their patios.

“Now, I make sure nobody smokes,” Kolevris said, joking he would beat up anyone who violates the rule.

Kolevris said some families with children used to dodge the Saffron’s patio and dine elsewhere to avoid smokers.

On Thursday afternoon, two moms with children in strollers were soaking up the fresh air on the restaurant patio. Laura Stone and Brittany Jay said they appreciated being able to bring their tots without worrying about shielding them from smoke.

“For myself, last year was a real game-changer,” Jay said. “I would be sitting on a patio and having people smoke around me while I was pregnant. It was a huge thing and I was like, ‘Ahh, go away!'”

Both moms were fine with the idea of adding a “smokers-only” patio space.

“That’s ideal, and what they should be doing,” Jay said. “I know if (smoking) is here (on the sidewalk) and it’s on the street and there’s alcohol involved, it’s always going to be an issue.”

“I know a lot of people do (smoke) and they want to be able to enjoy their time, too,” Stone added. “But this is where society’s going with smoking kind of, in general.”

Karen Braun, who was enjoying a smoke-free Starbucks patio on Corydon, also supported the new bylaw.

“They have a right to smoke and I have a right not to breathe in that air. So you know what, no. No to patio smoking,” she said Thursday.

Scott Jocelyn, president and chief executive officer of the Manitoba Hotel Association, said, so far, he’s not aware of tickets issued to any operator. He added, however, he isn’t expecting any tickets either — as city hall promised a “soft” rollout of enforcement, with an emphasis on working with operators for a few weeks.

Jocelyn said he remains frustrated city hall has refused to allow some patios to remain smoking-only, regardless of their occupancy permits. The new ban will force many operators to dismantle the patios they had set up and send smokers out onto sidewalks, where they will become a public nuisance, he said.

“People are going to have to find other places to smoke,” Jocelyn said. “In the long run, it’s just going to drive people out to the sidewalks… The reality is, people still smoke. If they can’t do it in an area that was set up for them, where are they going to go?”

In a previous interview, the Canadian Cancer Society noted second-hand smoke can travel distances up to nine metres from its source.

— with files from Aldo Santin

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbu