As the heat drives people to the beach this month, town officials in Sylvan Lake are reminding visitors they have made some changes to the smoking bylaw in the popular tourist destination.
Late last month, the town's council extended its smoking bylaw to include more parks, fields, and the beach — which was part of a provincial park until ownership was transferred to town earlier this year.
The town spokesperson Joanne Gaudet said the changes were spurred by complaints about public smoking and discarded cigarette butts.
Gaudet said the town collected more than 8,500 butts along the Sylvan Lake waterfront last fall.
"We ask that people who want to engage in the activity, take it to their vehicle or the parking lot or those designated spaces that we've allocated as restriction-less," she said.
While enjoying a day at the beach with her family last week, Samantha Foster said the discarded butts are a big problem, and she welcomes the changes to the town's smoking ban.
"My son today, already, I've taken two cigarette butts out of his hand that he almost had in his mouth, just on the beach, just walking around," she said.
The town says it will issue warnings while it sets up no smoking signs at the beach.
A first offence comes with a fine of $250.