Relaxing park drinking rules won’t end civilization

The circles have come full circle.

Last spring, the city painted large white rings on the grass in Trinity Bellwoods Park to encourage physical distancing among the mostly young demographic that socializes there, an effect that from a bird’s-eye view made it look like dozens of miniature UFOs landed between Queen and Dundas. It was the perfect visual companion to a moment that felt alien to everyone.

Unfortunately, that moment has not passed. COVID-19 is surging in Ontario and according to Toronto Mayor John Tory those eerie circles may be returning to parks again this summer.

“One of the things we’re thinking of doing is to repaint some of the circles in parks to help with the distancing, because that’s sometimes a challenge on a nice day,” he said in a news conference recently.

This is a good idea. We know that catching COVID-19 is low-risk outdoors. Last year, researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine compiled a database of studies and media reports on coronavirus clusters around the world and determined that 96 per cent were linked to indoor activity.

If people are going to hang out in parks anyway — which they’re already doing — why not encourage them to do so from a safe distance? The circles are smart policy because they are informed by how the space is already used. There’s no point pretending people aren’t going to gather outside. The circles simply nudge them to gather apart.

But do you know what would complement those circles really nicely? A legal glass of wine: i.e. relaxing the rules on drinking inside them.

Possibly the only positive thing about the pandemic is that it forces leaders to try out new stuff they normally wouldn’t — like, say, sending people a chunk of change in the mail and opening up roads to cyclists on weekends.

Let’s keep that trend going by legally allowing alcohol consumption in public parks. It’s not as though we’d be the first to do it. It’s perfectly legal to have a glass of wine in the grass in several major cosmopolitan cities around the world, as well as here in Canada (Montreal is still standing last I heard). And I don’t recall seeing headlines about super-spreader events fuelled by physically distanced wine picnics.

Neither presumably does Josh Matlow, the Ward 12 city councillor behind a new motion to “implement a pilot project to allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages that do not exceed 15 per cent alcohol by volume in public parks and beaches.”

If Matlow’s motion is approved at the end of April, Torontonians will be allowed to drink alcohol in parks and on beaches from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., between May 21 and Oct. 31. In other words, they’ll be legally allowed to do what they’re already doing.

It’s a civilized idea at a time when civilization is in short supply, especially for people who don’t have outdoor space. My wife and I lived for five years in a condo without a balcony and the park nearby functioned as our patio. We drank there regularly, and (mostly) sensibly. This is still true for thousands of Torontonians.

Why should the city waste already scarce resources in a pandemic fining these residents $300 for drinking beer in thermoses?

“So far, most of the criticism seems to come from fear of the unknown,” Matlow told Toronto Life recently about those who oppose his motion.

But in reality, nothing is unknown about it. There’s no mystery to what will happen when people are given the go-ahead to drink in parks, because without it, they drink in parks anyway. And the vast majority of the time, they do so responsibly, to the detriment of no one.

However, when it does come to bad actors, does anyone honestly believe that if the practice is rendered legal, they’ll do more damage?

In Matlow’s own words: “Public intoxication and underage drinking are already illegal under provincial law … those who behave irresponsibly are not concerned with existing policies.”

Those who behave irresponsibly don’t even know what the existing policies are. The laws of the land did not prevent partiers in Trinity Bellwoods Park from getting wasted last summer and urinating everywhere.

And despite the breathless coverage of that event (coverage I contributed to myself ) it in no way represents the average day at that park or any other. Go to any major Toronto park on a Saturday afternoon and you’ll see people drinking so responsibly you won’t even notice they’re drinking until you take a second look at what’s in their hands.

There’s also a tactical advantage to the city making it easier for people to drink in parks instead of on their patios or in their backyards. Anecdotally, I’ve heard about at least three COVID-era backyard gatherings that turned into indoor gatherings (one of which resulted in an outbreak). People intend to stay outside, but then they have a few drinks and they inevitably end up inside.

There was no good time to fine people for drinking responsibly in city parks. But I can’t think of a worse time to do so than right now. All solutions to keep people outside this summer should be realized. This is any easy one.