Murphy – Smokers are no longer allowed to light up in the downtown alleyway off of Valley River Avenue.
The Murphy Town Council voted 5-1 in favor of prohibiting smoking in the recently revamped era known as The Alley during their monthly meeting on Sept. 6. The ban extends to e-cigarettes as well.
Town Manager Chad Simons said the ordinance took effect immediately, though it is not enforceable until “no smoking” signs are posted, which should happen this week.
“Between those two buildings, if they’re smoking in there, it’s just going to get trapped in there, and it’s going to ruin that alleyway for a lot of people,” said council member Gail Walker Stansell, who made the motion.
“That alleyway is a very unique area that presents its own problems. I hate to see it ruined with cigarette smoke and cigarette butts and stuff all around.”
Council member Keesha Dockery was the lone vote against the ordinance. Dockery, who owns The Black & White Market beside The Alley, fears the move will redirect smokers in front of her store and to other problematic areas.
“I guess I can give a different perspective on that since my business is beside the alley,” Dockery said. “I like the idea of a no smoking sign, but I think if it’s in one particular area, that’s just going to move people out of that area and in front of the businesses, potentially.
“If we’re going to put up no-smoking signs, we need to do it throughout the town. I just feel like it’s either kind of all or nothing to see a big difference with this.”
Dockery said the potential repercussions of the ban are particularly frustrating as a business owner after she spearheaded the push to close the alleyway to vehicle traffic and renovate it with seating areas and lighting. She and council member Frank Dickey were on opposite sides of the smoking ban vote, which is not uncommon during council meetings. In this case, however, both indicated a willingness to expand the ban to other areas of the town in the future.
“I can see Keesha’s point, but I think we ought to approve this as one major step. We can deal with the whole issue as time goes on, a very short time,” Dickey said.
Dickey and Dockery later told the Cherokee Scout they do not intend to introduce another ordinance to ban smoking in any other areas of town, but both would consider supporting such a measure if introduced by another council member.
Other North Carolina cities and towns have taken similar steps in recent years. In 2019, the Elon Board of Aldermen voted to ban smoking and the use of e-cigarettes on downtown streets. Eight years earlier, Raleigh banned smoking in 2011 in city parks, on greenways and at city-owned venues.
“I’d say that’s not a bad idea for tee ball and little league games, such things as that,” Dickey said. “It would be up to the board.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, cigarette smoking has declined from 20.9 percent of U.S. adults in 2005 to 12.5 in 2020, though North Carolina exceeds the national average. A 2018 study by the CDC estimated that 17.4 percent of North Carolina adults smoked cigarettes.