Park commission wants to ban smoking at 77 Ann Arbor parks

Want to light up at an Ann Arbor park or playground? Think again. The Parks Advisory Commission is trying to turn 77 parks into smoke-free zones.

The PAC looked at other cities with similar bans and consulted with a public health expert before sending their recommendation to Ann Arbor's city administrator, Steve Powers. He is the one who has the power to approve it.

Some didn't like the idea.

“I come here and smoke at Liberty Plaza every morning," said Ann Arbor resident Vittorio Riley. “This is how I start my day before I go to work. It’s a public place, open air and not close to businesses. How can it be banned?”

Others were in support.

“I have a child and I think it’s great idea for parks with playgrounds,” said Nicole Minney. “No one wants to breathe in that secondhand smoke and I wouldn’t have to tell my child, 'OK, let’s move over here.'"

The Ann Arbor City Council already approved an ordinance this year that bans smoking near bus stops and store fronts.

Local 4 reached out to Powers, who is out of town, and he responded with this statement: “I will be receiving the Parks Advisory Committee's recommendations in the next few days. I will then review the recommendations and decide on implementation using city council's policy direction and PAC's work.”

There are 158 parks total in Ann Arbor. The ban would apply to 73 parks with playgrounds and four others. The PAC would monitor the effectiveness before recommending the ban at all parks.

This is the list from PAC for the potentially smoke-free parks:

City of Ann Arbor parks with playgrounds

1. Allmendinger Park
2. Arbor Oaks Park
3. Bader Park
4. Baxter Park
5. Beckley Park
6. Belize Park
7. Bromley Park
8. Brookside Park
9. Bryant Community Center
10. Buhr Park
11. Burns Park
12. Burr Oak Park
13. Churchill Downs Park
14. Clinton Park
15. Cloverdale Park
16. Cranbrook Park
17. Creal Park
18. Ellsworth Park
19. Esch Park
20. Evergreen Park
21. Foxfire North Park
22. Frisinger Park
23. Fritz Park
24. Fuller Park
25. Gallup Park
26. Garden Homes Park
27. Glacier Highlands Park
28. Greenbrier Park
29. Hansen Nature Area
30. Hunt Park
31. Huron Highlands Park
32. Island Park
33. Kelly Park
34. Kilburn Park
35. Landsdowne Park
36. Las Vegas Park
37. Leslie Park
38. Longshore Park
39. Mary Beth Doyle Park
40. Maryfield Wildwood Park
41. Meadowbrook Park
42. Mixtwood Pomona Park
43. Mushroom Park
44. North Main Park
45. Northside Park
46. Olson Park
47. Pilgrim Park
48. Placid Way Park
49. Plymouth Parkway Park
50. Riverside Park
51. Rose Park
52. Rose White Park
53. Scheffler Park
54. South Maple Park
55. SouthEast Area Park
56. Sugarbush Park
57. Sylvan Park
58. The Ponds
59. Turnberry Park
60. Veterans Memorial Park
61. Virginia Park
62. Ward Park
63. Waterworks Park
64. Waymarket Park
65. Wellington Park
66. West Park
67. Wheeler Park
68. White Oak Park
69. Winchell Park
70. Windemere Park
71. Winewood Thaler Park
72. Woodbury Park
73. Wurster Park

City of Ann Arbor parks within DDA District:

1. Farmers Market
2. Kempf House
3. Liberty Plaza
4. Sculpture Plaza