Grass at last

RIGA-Riga mayor Janis Birks has given the public permission to sit on the lawns of downtown Riga in a month-long experiment that has been announced in a hope that residents and guests of the Latvian capital will show responsible behavior.

Birks said at a news conference Tuesday that the ban on sitting on lawns in the center of Riga would be temporary lifted as of June 2.

Agnis Kalnkazins who heads Rigas Darzi un Parki (Riga Gardens and Parks), a municipal agency in charge of the capital city's parks and gardens, voiced his dislike of the experiment and engaged in a heated debate with the mayor.

Kalnkazins strongly believes residents of Riga are not cultural enough to be allowed to sit on lawns. Madara Smite, an organizer of the Sitting Green campaign, announced at the news conference Green Culture Patrols in which young people will be collecting information from June 2-6 on the time spent on lawns.

Under the public order rules passed by the Riga City Council, residents and guests of Riga are banned from walking or sitting on lawns in the green area of the city's historical center, as well as in green areas in which special prohibition signs have been installed.

A recent public opinion poll suggests that nearly 70 percent of residents believe that the city's green areas should be made accessible to all.