Alexandria City Council Approves Anti-Smoking Signage

The Alexandria City Council approved a new resolution on Tuesday evening to discourage smoking in city parks and bus shelters.

State law prevents the city from enacting a ban on smoking in these areas. The resolution calls for signs to be placed in playgrounds, parks and bus shelters to “gently thank people for not smoking,” said Councilwoman Del Pepper, who spearheaded the initiative.

The resolution passed on a 5-2 vote, with Council members Frank Fannon and Alicia Hughes casting dissenting votes. While both expressed the positive intention of the signs, Fannon and Hughes believed they were a mark of overregulation.

“What this comes down to is people’s liberty in a free society,” Fannon said. “If people want to smoke, they should be able to smoke.”

Pepper, Vice Mayor Kerry Donley and Councilman Rob Krupicka all countered by saying the signs were simply means of promoting health in the city, especially in reducing second-hand smoke in playgrounds.

“We are encouraging a positive behavior,” Vice Mayor Kerry Donley said. “We do that all the time.”

Krupicka called the playground signs a “no-brainer.” Hughes said she was a proponent of the playground signs, but believed signs for bus shelters and parks were “over-excessive enforcement.”

The initiative will role out in three phases, with small signs first appearing in the city’s 35 playgrounds. The Alexandria Health Department has funds available for the playground signs. Funding for signs in the city’s 121 bus shelters and 108 parks would have to be obtained from private or grant sources, according to the city memo.