Councillor says Calgary considering ‘European-style beer gardens and the like’ in public parks

A Calgary city councillor is opening up the possibility of having open-container laws in city parks, calling it an extension of the hearing process on public cannabis consumption sites.

Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra joined The Morning News on 770 CHQR to explain.

“People are saying, ‘Why are we speaking about being able to smoke cannabis when we can’t even, as a civilized human being and a civilized country, have a glass of wine with a picnic at a park?’”

LISTEN: Gian-Carlo Carra joins Gord and Sue to discuss public consumption sites for marijuana and liquor

On Aug. 27, Carra tweeted that council is discussing seasonal beer gardens in city parks.

Carra explained some of the early steps he and other councillors have taken.

“Our parks department has been told by council, ‘Let’s be a little bit entrepreneurial about ourselves. Let’s see what sort of revenue streams we might be able to develop.’

Carra said he has been approached by a couple of restaurant and bar owners who want to know if the city has thought about opening up “European-style beer gardens” in parks. “Maybe by the 10th Street wave so people can sit and watch the surfers and have a beer, or maybe down by the Harvie Passage, that kind of thing.’”

Parts of the United States have so-called “open container laws,” regulating the consumption and possession of open alcohol containers in certain areas. Entertainment districts in Memphis, Kansas City, Tampa and Savannah have open-container laws. The state of Ohio allows cities to create designated “outdoor refreshment areas” in limited numbers where alcoholic beverages can be consumed.

Carra also mentioned how a survey, separate from the public cannabis consumption site approval process, also brought the idea of allowing drinking alcohol in public to council’s attention.

“The Parks Department undertook a survey of the parks with citizens,” he said. “They didn’t even have it as a question on the survey, but in the ‘Is there anything else we should think about?’ column, that popped up with a lot of people.”

In a statement, the City of Calgary said it would have to conduct further research as a result of the write-in survey results.

The City has plans to look at potential impacts of designating picnic sites to allow for alcohol consumption, and plans to ask Calgarians just that. In the same statement, the City said, “There is no set timeline for the project, and work on it would likely not begin until 2019.”