It may soon be harder for people to smoke in some public areas in Westbrook thanks to a new ban on smoking being considered by the City Council.
On Monday night, the council gave its preliminary approval to an ordinance change that would make smoking illegal at certain public parks and open spaces in the city.
If the council approves the change in a second vote on Aug. 21, smoking would be illegal in Riverbank Park, Saccarappa Park and the boardwalk and Bicentennial Park, including the ramp park, among other areas.
The list of smoke-free zones would also include the skating rinks at Stroudwater, Lincoln and Bridge streets, the ballfields at Bridge Street, Foster Street, Stevens Avenue and Cornelia Warren Field as well as the outdoor swimming pool.
Some residents were ambivalent about the change, while others said they would welcome the ban, saying it would help discourage younger children from picking up the habit.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” 16-year-old Westbrook High School student Brian York said Tuesday at the ramp park. “I’ll just go somewhere else, to a bench somewhere or my house.”
York said, while he smokes, he thinks the city’s plan to eliminate smoking at outdoor facilities like the ramp park is a good one because many people are not smokers and smoking is inappropriate with children present.
Twenty-year-old Eric Benson, a Westbrook resident and student at the University of Maine at Farmington, agreed with York. Benson said he doesn’t smoke, although it can sometimes be part of the skating culture.
“Personally, I’m for (the ban on smoking), but I know a lot of people wouldn’t like it,” said Benson.
Gorham resident Frank Wareham, who frequents Riverbank Park from time to time to meet relatives who live in Westbrook and Portland, said he used to smoke and he doesn’t think it should be allowed where children are present.
“I’m not a big fan of smoking where high concentrations of kids would be,” said Wareham. “It ought to be kept separate from kids.”
The smoking ban would be enforced through a combination of signs posted throughout the designated smoke-free areas and fines. Police would be authorized to give verbal warnings to offenders, followed by a $25 for a first offense, $100 for a second offense at the same venue and $250 for a third offense at that venue.
Jamie Goddard, who owns Pinkie’s Ice Cream, a pushcart at Riverbank Park, spends almost every night from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the park selling ice cream. He said he sees adults smoking around children all the time, including parents pushing kids on the swings with cigarettes in their mouths. Although he smokes himself, he is in favor of a ban on smoking at open-air places like Riverbank Park.
“There’s a time and a place for everything,” he said. “And that’s not it.”
Westbrook resident Stephen Maynard said he thought the city would be discriminating against smokers who pay taxes and have the right to enjoy outdoor places along with nonsmokers. Maynard said he likes to smoke a cigar and stroll along the Riverwalk, but he puts his cigar out when he passes children.
“I wouldn’t want kids to see me smoking or their parents smoking,” he said. “I don’t even want my own kids to see me smoking. And they’re 22 and 23 years old.”
City Councilor Drew Gattine has expressed a desire to expand the list of smoking-free zones, but for now the list will be limited to the selected parks and outdoor recreational areas. Maynard said he didn’t think it was right for the city to “pick and choose” the smoke-free zones, especially since everyone in the city pays taxes and should be able to enjoy those areas like anyone else.
“If one area of the city is cut off from smoking, then all city property should be cut off,” said Maynard. “You can’t just designate certain areas.”
The question of expanding the list to city-owned buildings was discussed by the council and administration at a committee meeting two weeks ago. City Administrator Jerre Bryant said special concessions would have to be made for city employees who smoke, such as designated smoking areas outside the buildings like those already in use at the Public Safety Building and City Hall.
Councilor John O’Hara said at Monday’s meeting that eliminating smoking in parts of the city sends an antismoking message to the city’s youth. “I think this is a great first step,” said Councilor John O’Hara. “I think this gives the city of Westbrook a new air about it.”
The council will hold a public meeting and take a final vote on the smoking ban at its next meeting on Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. in room 114 of Westbrook High School.
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