CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Charleston City Council will soon be voting on a policy that would ban smoking in city parks.
Barring a couple amendments to their current draft of the policy, the Charleston Parks and Recreation Committee is supporting a ban of smoking on city park property.
That would include banning smoking in parks, city-operated playgrounds and any community center property.
“I don’t think anybody that has their kid out there playing on a playground or anything wants their kid going through secondhand smoke,” Parks and Rec Director John Charnock told WSAZ-TV. “They’re out there to play; to run around and stuff like that. They don’t need to run through a cloud of smoke.”
The policy would come with increase signage and garbage receptacles to put at the front entrance of banned locations so people are aware of the new rules.
If people continued to smoke they could be asked to leave. If they still refused to stop they could be arrested for trespassing.
Charleston City Council expects to vote on the no smoking policy within a month.