Less than a week into Halifax’s new Nuisance Bylaw and issues continue to pop up, as the municipality races to roll out spots where people can smoke.
There are now about 60 designated smoking areas (DSA) dotting the municipality but one in particular drew the ire of accessibility advocates when it was spotted Thursday. Two accessible parking spaces were painted over to make room for a DSA at the Halifax Forum.
“I mean smokers, they can quit. They can choose to quit anytime, whether … they’re going on a program, cold turkey, or whatever. But I can’t quit my disability,” said Darrel MacDonald, who posted a photo of the space Thursday afternoon.
“I have it 24/7, 365. I wake up with it. I go to bed with it. I’ve lived with it for the last 20 years.”
The spots were repainted before noon on Friday and municipal spokesperson Brendan Elliott says it should have never happened.
“I’d best describe it as a breakdown in communication between the staff at city hall and the people out at the Halifax Forum,” Elliott said.
“We have people that are looking at maps and determining where the best locations are for the designated smoking areas and, for the particular case we’re talking about, there were some parking spaces that we felt we might be able to take advantage of. It did not indicate on our maps that those were accessible parking spaces, so it made perfect sense.”
READ MORE: Halifax businesses concerned over location of designated smoking areas
Brian George, who also criticized the DSA on Twitter, said he doesn’t buy the explanation coming from City Hall.
“As far as I’m concerned, that was lip service,” George said.
“I think it was done without thinking, that they shouldn’t be taking away two wheelchair accessible spots and when they got caught, that was their answer.”
This is not the first issue to come out of the municipality’s decision to ban smoking on public property.
The bylaw was originally supposed to take effect on Oct. 1, but staff was unable to meet that goal, and it was instead instituted on Monday. There were only nine initial DSAs at launch, all concentrated at transit terminals outside of the peninsula.
Thursday, the owner of a tea shop on Argyle Street complained that a DSA was set up outside of his business without any sort of consultation. Earlier in the week, people in Porters Lake complained that a DSA was set up directly across from a school. It prompted David Hendsbee, the councillor for the area, to take it upon himself to move the cigarette receptacle to what he felt was a more suitable location.
Both George and MacDonald think the mistake at the Forum is indicative of a greater lack of respect of accessibility issues in Nova Scotia.
WATCH: Concerns raised over some Halifax designated smoking area locations
“We have no respect in this city whatsoever,” George said.
“I have felt disrespected by city councillors, by the powers that be in this city since the day I moved here and, quite frankly, I’m tired of it.”
George added that things are getting better, albeit slowly.
“Things are getting better. In the four years I’ve been here, they have really improved upon things,” he said.
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