Sylvan Lake bans all forms of smoking on beach, in park

In last year's fall clean-up, the Town of Sylvan Lake collected more than 8,600 cigarette butts from the provincial park's shoreline.

It was one of the major catalysts for a new bylawbanning all forms of smoking on the beach and in the park.

The legislation,passed Monday night, bans cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookah pipes,electronic cigarette or vapes on the beach or in the park.

Smoking will be allowed in designated areas outside the beach and park.

Ron Lebsack, who oversees parks for the Town of Sylvan Lake,drafted the bylaw.

"We've been receiving a lot of feedback from the public lately, probably over the past two or three years, regarding smoking on the beach," he told CBC's Radio Active Thursday.

Lebsack said the town's staff sometimes had to deal with confrontations between smokers and non-smokers on the beach, even though the park was under provincial jurisdiction.

"Our staff saw some of the interactions down there between families that were trying to enjoy the beach and someone that was smoking next to them," he said.

"It was tough to deal with those previously when it was a provincial park."

But now that the town is taking care of the park, it's been easier to implement an all-encompassing law.

"It was an opportune time to make that change," Lebsack said.

• FROM 2010: Smoking ban suggested for Sylvan Lake

The current legislation includes banning smoking medical cannabis in those certain areas, but Lebsack said the town is planning a separate set of regulations for when recreational cannabis is legalized.

Lebsack said the feedback on the bylaw has been mostly positive. But most of that positive feedback is local, and that might change heading into the first weekend of the bylaw in effect.

He's confident the new bylaw won't affect tourism numbers too much he admits some smokers may find other beaches to visit,but others who were previously bothered by second-hand smoke might return.

Enforcement will consist primarily of education for the first few weeks, before moving to $250 for the first offence, $500 for the second and $1,000 for third and subsequent offences.

Sylvan Lake is 25 kilometres west of Red Deer.