Canandaigua, N.Y. --- Discussions about what a smoking ban in the City of Canandaigua could look like begin in earnest Tuesday night at a meeting of the city council ordinance committee meeting.
At the city level the idea has been brought up before and in 2011 Ontario County passed a smoking ban that extends to all county-owned or leased properties.
"For most of us we just assume that we're not going to smoke in public buildings we're not going to smoke even in restaurants any more and this is kind of an extension of that,” said Canandaigua City Manager David Forrest. “So we'll have a conversation about it and we'll see what kind of support there is for extending smoking bans to outdoors."
Complaints from some include the number of cigarette butts found on the Main Street sidewalk.
“Look there,” Ed Rex of Canandaigua said. “If they could just take their cigarette butts with them, they don't need to leave them on the street."
"I'm tired of breathing in other people's cigarette smoke," Wendy Rex of Canandaigua added. "I think it would be a good idea, I'm tired of having to fight my way through a cloud of smoke to go to a public place.”
Some are right to argue that smoking bans are already widespread and prohibit smoking in many places, public or private, already. But others are also right to argue that many people still wish smoking be banned from even more places that they frequent.
"I kind of agree with the fact that why is government legislating behavior for everybody? But this is one habit that really does need some legislation,” Chris Sophoclides of Canandaigua said.
Discussion on the issue will begin Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Hurley Building on Saltonstall Street in Canandaigua.
Citizens with feelings on the matter are encouraged to contact members of city council, the mayor, or city hall.
