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No smoking at ACL
Don’t light up during the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
That’s the word from the city’s parks department, which has prohibited smoking, as well as charcoal and wood grilling, in all city parks due to extreme drought conditions. That ban, which was put in place in April 2010, includes Zilker Park, site of this weekend’s three-day ACL Fest.
City officials say recent wildfires that devastated parts of Bastrop, Spicewood and Steiner Ranch have shown just how quickly fire can spread. That, they hope, will be on the minds of festival-goers.
“We have more people who are aware,” said fire department spokeswoman Michelle DeCrane. “The awareness is very high right now.”
Park rangers will first ask people caught smoking to stop, said parks department spokesman Victor Ovalle. If they don’t, they’ll be asked to leave. Refuse to leave, and Austin police will get involved.
“At that point, officers would issue a trespassing citation,” said Lt. Todd Smith. “We hope it wouldn’t get that far.
“We just want everyone to have a good time.”
The ban is a directive from parks director Sara Hensley — not a city ordinance — which means officers can’t issue citations for smoking alone, Smith said.
Smokers with three-day passes have the option of leaving the park grounds to light up, then re-entering after passing through a security checkpoint, according to an ACL Fest spokeswoman.
Festival-goers with one-day passes can’t do that.
With signs posted around the park — inside and outside the gates — Ovalle says he doesn’t expect a problem with compliance.
“People know how bad it is right now,” he said. “It’s been all over the news.”
Cars parked on bone-dry grass are also a concern for parks officials, Ovalle said. The heat generated by a car’s underside can — and frequently does — start fires.
“The last thing anyone wants is a fire in our parks,” he said.
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By no way
September 12, 2011 3:38 PM | Link to this
I’m sorry, this has no chance of working.
By f-n joke
September 12, 2011 3:40 PM | Link to this
they cant even keep weed out; how on earth are they going to stop the smokers from smoking? Idiocy.
By good luck
September 12, 2011 3:50 PM | Link to this
not going to work.
By StraightTalk
September 12, 2011 3:51 PM | Link to this
Smoke, smoke, smoke those cigarettes, puff, puff, puff until you smoke yourself to death, tell ACL at the gate that they’ll just have to wait cause you gotta have another cigarette……
By stacey
September 12, 2011 3:55 PM | Link to this
They also changed their stance over the past three days, from stating that it would be tolerated to flat-out banning it. I can’t believe they would go so far as to state that it would come down to trespassing. SO ridiculous.
By GeorgeW
September 12, 2011 3:59 PM | Link to this
****! Zilker Park is green and surrounded by water on one side. Just say no lighters or matches. I don’t give a damn but this is totally butt funking ******. Are they going to search for cigarettes and lighters? Full cavity searches? Funking ****** need to suffer a major financial loss for being funking ******. Thank You George W. Bush/Rick Perry.
By Mike
September 12, 2011 4:11 PM | Link to this
I am far more concerned about all of the cars that will be illegally parked on the grass nearby Zilker Park starting a fire than a single cigarette that will be consumed and then stomped out into the ground. And this is coming from a person that hates cigarettes.
By Snoop Dogg
September 12, 2011 4:15 PM | Link to this
The story doesn’t say so, but the regulations only apply to tobacco cigarettes and cigars. The regulation has no bearing on chronic or joints or spliffs or pipes. I’ll be exhaling my deep toke off some killah weed into the face of every cop I see, just cause I can.
By SteelyTop
September 12, 2011 4:16 PM | Link to this
I don’t smoke but that’s just one more reason I would never buy an ACL Fest ticket for any reason. The concerts in Zilker park were free back in the mid-90’s. I’m not spending one thin dime on anything that’s even slightly inconvenient for my friends or I. Pass! Have a good ACL Fest. I would sell my tickets if I won them on the radio. :)
By Snoop Dogg
September 12, 2011 4:20 PM | Link to this
Cigs suck, and so do the losers that smoke them. Just don’t fcuk with the stoners and their weed, that’s all I’m saying. The stoners are what helps make Austin weird; see “Dazed & Confused.”
By Seen it
September 12, 2011 4:23 PM | Link to this
This is hilarious because it is so ridiculous. It won’t work either.
By todd
September 12, 2011 4:25 PM | Link to this
This is awesome. Smokers are the most selfish humans alive. They think they have a right to blow smoke in people’s faces and throw cigarettes on the ground. Greatness!
By Moundman
September 12, 2011 4:26 PM | Link to this
An all out ban and kicking out smokers is not going to work. A smoker is going to smoke. Period.
The City/C3/Parks Department would be better served to educate the public on the dangers of smoking and tossing butts. Educate the public not to flick lit butts and provide numerous ashtray stations or trashcans. Provide an incentive to turn in cigarette butts - 20 butts gets a free ACL sticker, etc - similar to how the incentives for patrons to pick up recycle materials for free shirts.
The risk of fire within the manicured lawns of the festival grounds seem low. The bigger risk is outside of the Great Lawn in non-irrigated areas which are dry - the lawn across Barton Springs, the Barton Creek greenbelt, hike and bike trail, etc.
What if C3 donated a certain percentage of a dollar amount for every pound of cigarette butts disposed of properly to the victims of the Texas Wildfires? They can afford it, it’s good publicity for the event, the victims benefit, and patrons are rewarded for disposing properly their smoking materials. A side benefit is that Zilker is not littered with butts after the event.
By Bill Meyer
September 12, 2011 4:30 PM | Link to this
It won’t work because smokers are dumb. They should be banned from the city
By LT
September 12, 2011 4:37 PM | Link to this
There’s no way thousands of people are going to walk to one of the TWO exits to the park just to smoke one cigarette. Plus, no one smoking weed is going to walk outside b/c they’re already breaking one law, why not break another one?
Plus, it’s not like a cigarette is going to start a wildfire at ACL. With people occupying almost ever square inch of the festival grounds, somebody would step on the cig before it even had a chance to do any damage.
B.S.
By Stacey
September 12, 2011 4:44 PM | Link to this
@todd, yes some smokers are selfish. A lot of people are selfish for various reasons. It’s not fair to generalize, especially when there are the whole lot of us who make a point to throw all of our trash away, including our butts AND other peoples’ trash that has been so carelessly left behind. We don’t enjoy blowing smoke in peoples’ faces; we avoid it. As much as we avoid smoking around children. I respect your right to your opinion as much as you should respect my right to smoke outdoors, good gracious!
By Will
September 12, 2011 4:54 PM | Link to this
I am dumb because I’m addicted to a substance. You are dumb because you don’t understand causation.
By Scot
September 12, 2011 5:34 PM | Link to this
Well hopefully the vendors won’t be selling cigarettes at the festival
By mervyn
September 12, 2011 6:00 PM | Link to this
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HA - good luck with that. wooootht.
By JOE
September 12, 2011 6:22 PM | Link to this
GOOD! Cigarettes should be illegal. If elected I will pass the law! You will have to hide to do it just like the stoners!
By Smoking
September 12, 2011 6:38 PM | Link to this
I would like to see information about refunds for people that are smokers that did not have notice of this at the time we paid $185 for tickets to an outside venue.
By Ca Dozo
September 12, 2011 7:22 PM | Link to this
I hate being around smokers, but they are hard to stop. I fear the ban will lead to clandestine smoking in places where a fire might not be noticed until it has really gotten going. Perhaps providing a smoking pen in an area that has been mowed and kept wet and that has lots of butt cans for people to put their cigarettes in might be a better and safer option.
By Richard Izinya
September 12, 2011 7:42 PM | Link to this
Smoking kills and you’ll fell like a richard izinya lungs by the time you realize it.
By kittykat
September 12, 2011 8:34 PM | Link to this
As anyone who smokes knows, they started making them fire-safe, which is really annoying sometimes because they so often go out and have to be re-lit. (I know, waah waah) Of course there is still a risk of fire but it is not as high as it once was.
By Jobster
September 12, 2011 9:21 PM | Link to this
There’s gonna be some lighting UP in those portapotties, which is not a good thing. Hope they have the hoses on standby.
By Elliot
September 12, 2011 9:45 PM | Link to this
AW shucks all you smokers with zero self control who can’t even go 20 minutes without caving in to your addictions will be crying in your beers that weekend. As someone mentioned, smokers are INDEED the most selfish people in the world who choose to destroy their own health while having complete and utter disregard and disrespect for anyone around them. Then the comments come in such as “It’s my right…blah blah”. Yes you are so incredible responsible as a human that you have no control over your own daily actions, you’re BEING controlled by a toxic addictive substance. So ya ***** and moan because they tell you that they’d really not have one of you irresponsible, selfish, losers catch the entire damn place on fire because they know YOU’RE CAPABLE OF DOING IT. Go read the book “The easy way to quit smoking” by Alan Carr. It’s helped millions see the light that you can’t right now.
By Frythis!
September 12, 2011 10:34 PM | Link to this
That is ridiculous. No smoking on a green lawn surrounded by fire hazards…. Propane tanks galore, fryers, huge hot busses parked on lawns, electrical lights, long power cords….. I remember the food truck that blew up a few years ago, started a massive fire (started with a grease fire)…. But no smoking….. That is really dumb. If anything starts a fire, it will be a food vendor. (have you seen how much fried food is being served? The food vendors’ fried menus are on ACL website). Speaking of sh#t that kills humans, all you non smoking fat arses can give yourself heart attacks on fried chicken and mac n cheez, while risking the rest of our safety at the festival with your hot oil fryers.
By rob
September 12, 2011 10:42 PM | Link to this
SAME goes for ALL of the bands too? Bye-bye ACL!!
By Stacey
September 13, 2011 7:56 AM | Link to this
Elliot, I’m sure you’re the paragon of health. I applaud you. However, you should remember that the cause of this discussion is not personal or public health, it’s wildfires. So what do you have to say about that, specifically?
By Stan
September 13, 2011 8:39 AM | Link to this
Elliott, go for the broad strokes man, pretty good red meat you toss around, but way obvious. Try harder next time.
They need to ban chairs close to the stage before they wrap up the smokes.
By Jeff
September 13, 2011 8:40 AM | Link to this
My bet is that C3 put this idea in the city’s head, in order to turn around and get lower insurance premiums for the event. Remember that those boys have yet to met a wallet/purse that they can’t stick their prying hands into. I was at the Dust Bowl of ACL 2005, and Zilker is a lush oasis now, compared to then, even with the ridiculous drought we are going through. Cigs were fine then, why not now? And for the record, the last cigarette I smoked was 27 years ago this month. Smokers I can deal with, money-grubbing hypocrites, not so much…
By Hondo69
September 14, 2011 5:43 AM | Link to this
Just do what I did, get some e-cigs from a local supplier
xt9ecigs.com
By Sami
September 14, 2011 3:28 PM | Link to this
They shouldn’t have to enforce this. You guys should be decent enough human beings that you can give up smoking for one weekend. Are you not aware of the wildfires burning all around Texas?? Seriously, don’t be dumb. Please don’t light my beloved Zilker park on fire. They made this rule for a reason, not to be a buzz kill.
By ThankYouSami
September 15, 2011 8:26 AM | Link to this
No, Sami, we hadn’t heard about the wildfires. Thank you for informing us.
I love Zilker Park, too. Just because I think the smoking ban is ridiculous doesn’t mean that I’d like to see the park burn.
By Ryan
September 15, 2011 8:29 AM | Link to this
I do not smoke. I do not like it when other’s smoke around me,as whether they mean to or not,the wind has a tendancy to change directions in order to target me. I usually support most public bans on Smoking. I especially support one that isn’t even health oriented,but fire hazzard. all that said, we all know that this isn’t actually going to be enforced. anyone who has been to ACL knows that a concert can’t start until there is so much Pot smoke in the air you can’t see the sun. if they can’t/won’t stop that,they won’t stop smokers. just please, don’t be as stupid as you were when you first picked up a ciggarrette,knowing it was addictive and deadly.
By nunya bidness
September 16, 2011 3:37 PM | Link to this
I’m NOT a smoker and the smoking ban is RETARTED! first of all smokers are addicts and couldn’t stop if they wanted to comply. 2nd Zilker park is GREEN and WET, not dry like the rest of Texas. supplying four corners with (tents/sand barrels to put out cigs) of the park for smokers to get their fix would suffice…….DUH!!!
it’s Not rocket science
By dickie stang
September 18, 2011 3:25 PM | Link to this
Elliot you are so self serving. Whats this 20 minutes about. Its just another way for the man to dictate our lives.Im gonna bring those little poches of tabacco cause I ‘ve been addicted since 1973 13 yo. What 13 yo reads health risk assements.
By viagra
September 20, 2011 1:49 AM | Link to this
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