The City of Calgary says a new pilot project that allows people to drink at designated picnic tables throughout the city appears to be a success so far.
The pilot program launched on June 1 and is set to wrap up on Sept. 7.
Now about halfway through, the city says it has received over 1,400 bookings to date.
Only a single complaint has been lodged, and the city says it was due to a large amount of litter after a booking.
One table was removed from the pilot in Elbow Park at the request of area residents and a community association.
“There was a pre-existing issue with disruptive behavior in that area and we did not want to exacerbate the issue so the table was removed,” a city spokesperson said in an email to Global News.
However, the city said three additional tables were added to other areas; one in Fairview and two others in Renfrew.
“There have been requests for more locations, particularly in the Beltline, where citizens may not have their own backyard where they can have friends over,” the city said.
“As the program was implemented quickly and with limited budget, only existing tables that were not near a playground or in a regional park were utilized.”
City officials will continue to evaluate the program until it wraps in the fall.
City administration will then review the pilot and report back to council with its findings in November.
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