Booze to be allowed in select Edmonton park sites after all, further study ordered too

Edmontonians will be able to legally crack open a beer or a bottle of wine in some city park sites this summer after all, city councillors decided last Thursday.

In January, a council committee recommended that the city study the issue further instead of extending a 2021 pilot project that permitted drinking in 47 River Valley park and picnic sites.

But on a day when the news was dominated by the Alberta budget and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, councillors voted 7-4 to also run a pilot project in 2022.

"I think that Edmontonians very clearly, and with full-throated support, have said that they support this," Coun. Aaron Paquette said at the Feb. 24 meeting.

A report with more consultation, including with public health experts, was also approved 8-3.

Some councillors wanted to get that report back before giving the green light to more drinking sites.

A recent city survey found that 53 per cent of people liked the project, 12 per cent had a negative experience, and 34 per cent didn't take a stance on park drinking either way.

During the pilot, peace officers responded to 1,909 alcohol-related infractions in parks but wrote just two tickets. All of those infractions were for people drinking outside of the designated areas or after 9 p.m.

Some councillors argued that not allowing drinking in parks is an equity issue, with people experiencing houselessness, people of colour and people who don't have a yard at risk of receiving far more tickets.

"I'm not a huge booster of drinking in parks. I frankly don't care one way or the other. But as far as policy and good governance goes, this fits the bill. This is, at the end of the day an equity issue," Paquette argued.

Coun. Michael Janz pointed out that drinking has been allowed in city-owned sports facilities like Commonwealth Stadium and Rexall/Rogers Place for decades. Council also recently made it easier for pubs and restaurants to expand licensed patios, he said.

"Only if you're of higher economic privilege are you able to go and drink at these spaces. If you want to just get drinks, get friends, go to a picnic table and get a beer in a park, you can't. And that's not fair," Janz said.

The motion that passed called for sites outside of the river valley to also be considered but no number or locations were specified.

In January, two members of the city's Community Services Advisory Board spoke against park drinking, primarily because of safety concerns.

Alberta Health Services employees also spoke against expanding the pilot project, with one official calling outdoor spaces "one of the more risky places for drinking and alcohol-related harms."

Councillors Knack, Paquette, Cartmell, Salvador, Janz, Rutherford and Stevenson voted in favour of the 2022 pilot project.

Councillors Rice, Tang, Wright and Principe voted against it.