What does Strathmore think about allowing public alcohol consumption?

Calgary, Edmonton and now Chestermere are allowing public consumption of alcohol in parks, which has some Strathmore residents wondering whether or not we'll follow suit.

A topic this big often finds people on both sides, and Rick Bengivingo is one of those who believes it would be a bad idea to follow in Chestermere's footsteps.

"I don't think they should (allow alcohol in parks). There's enough alcohol around, bars and everything else. Don't need to bring it in the parks. It's not necessary where the children are involved," Bengivingo said.

Others like Mike Gibbons think it would be great for Strathmore to allow public consumption of alcohol in parks.

"I'm definitely not a drinker myself but I'm all for freedom of choice, and that's the big thing for me, is that I think people should have the choice to do as they see fit. I know that some people take advantage of it and they kind of act stupid, but I guess that's an unfortunate component of freedom," Gibbons said.

While Gibbons feels strongly that everybody should have the freedom to do as they choose, he added that you shouldn't be allowed to do whatever you want if it hurts other people.

"If people want to make themselves look stupid I guess that's up to them, so long as they don't impact other people too much, that's always one of my big things. You should be able to do most things that you want to do, as long as it doesn't impact other people."

While there are some strong opinions both for and against it, many find themselves somewhere in the middle. Like Gibbons, Jimmy Jamjar says people should be given the chance to have alcohol in parks, but it has to be controlled.

"I really think that they (people drinking alcohol in parks) shouldn't overdo it. There should be some kind of limit, rules should be enforced. If you're going to drink in a park, there's kids, you have to think about the kids, you have to think about your consumption of alcohol because you don't want to get too messed up. With a controlled environment and rules enforced, I'm for it," Jamjar said

Debbie Nadeau agrees with Jamjar in that you have to consider that parks are a popular place for kids. While she's ok with alcohol in parks, she said it can't be in places where children spend time, like playgrounds. If there's certain areas of Kinsmen Park dedicated to adults who want to drink she doesn't see any issues, so long as there aren't any children.

If Strathmore eventually does follow in Chestermere's footsteps, it wouldn't be Nadeau's first experience with municipalities allowing public drinking.

"I just recently moved here from BC and they do it down in BC in the Okanagan. If it's well monitored it's ok, if it's not monitored it's not ok. So they need to have the staff to monitor it," Nadeau said.

Ultimately, Nadeau believes it comes down to the people who decide to drink alcohol in parks.

"We need to believe that the adults are going to have enough common sense, that they're going to treat it respectfully, they're going to use it the way it should be used."

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