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The City of Ottawa is allowing booze in seven parks across the city for the first time ever this summer as part of a pilot project starting Canada Day.
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The pilot, which was approved on June 11, will allow alcohol consumption in designated parks between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. The pilot will run until Oct. 31, and city staff will report back to council shortly after.
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The designated parks include:
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- Minto Park, 102 Lewis Street
- McNabb Park, 180 Percy Street
- Queenswood Ridge Park, 346 Kennedy Lane East
- Lansdowne Park – Great Lawn, 1525 Princess Patricia Way
- Riverain Park, 400 North River Road
- Strathcona Park, 25 Range Road
- Brewer Park, 100 Brewer Way
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Coun. Jeff Leiper said in a post on the social media site BlueSky that Champlain Park in his ward would soon be added to the list of parks where you can drink, but it might be slightly delayed.
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“I was late to get my form in requesting that. It will be a few days after the July 1 pilot start that goes into effect in Champlain once they’re able to get the signage up,” Leiper said.
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The pilot program comes after Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard asked the city about doing the pilot last year.
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According to a report presented to council’s community services committee in May, councillors were presented with two options on how to run the pilot program.
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The first approach would allow the councillor in each ward to work with the city’s general manager and their communities to decide whether or not they would designate a park to allow alcohol consumption.
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The second approach would be a phased process where the general manager would consult with ward councillors to authorize one park for alcohol consumption between July 31 and Oct. 30. A post-pilot evaluation and report would be presented to council for further direction.
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Other Canadian cities have launched similar programs in the past, such as Toronto and Calgary. It is also very common in Europe and some Asian countries like Japan and South Korea.
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“Some of us downtown councillors may have multiple locations that we think would be suitable because we have a more of a population without access to outdoor space,” Menard said after a city council meeting on May 28.