Now you can sit anywhere you want — just not there. Photo by Nathan Greenhalgh/Baltic Reports

RIGA — Riga’s city council has reversed a long-standing, contentious prohibition and decided to allow people to sit in grassy areas in downtown parks.

Fifty council members supported the decision Tuesday, while four abstained. The nearly unanimous decision comes after a seven-year ban of sitting in picturesque downtown parks such as Esplanade, Vērmane and Kronvald. To be sure, the ban on lounging on the [private_supervisor]grassy knolls alongside the canal, a favorite for students and youth trying to catch a few rays between classes, will remain.

The ban was first introduced in 2002 and uphold on several occasions. Rigans protested bitterly to the decision, but officials from the Riga park directorate defended the decision by arguing about the northern climate and the difficulty to grow grass.

A 2008 poll showed that 67 percent of Riga residents were against the ban. With this in mind, the then mayor Jānis Birks ordered a temporary cessation to the ban. However, once the experiment ended, the ban came back into force and remained for the next two years.

Mayor Nils Ušakovs was quoted as saying last week that the ban on the canal slopes would remain in force for security reasons. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]grassy knolls alongside the canal, a favorite for students and youth trying to catch a few rays between classes, will remain.

The ban was first introduced in 2002 and uphold on several occasions. Rigans protested bitterly to the decision, but officials from the Riga park directorate defended the decision by arguing about the northern climate and the difficulty to grow grass.

A 2008 poll showed that 67 percent of Riga residents were against the ban. With this in mind, the then mayor Jānis Birks ordered a temporary cessation to the ban. However, once the experiment ended, the ban came back into force and remained for the next two years.

Mayor Nils Ušakovs was quoted as saying last week that the ban on the canal slopes would remain in force for security reasons. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]grassy knolls alongside the canal, a favorite for students and youth trying to catch a few rays between classes, will remain.

The ban was first introduced in 2002 and uphold on several occasions. Rigans protested bitterly to the decision, but officials from the Riga park directorate defended the decision by arguing about the northern climate and the difficulty to grow grass.

A 2008 poll showed that 67 percent of Riga residents were against the ban. With this in mind, the then mayor Jānis Birks ordered a temporary cessation to the ban. However, once the experiment ended, the ban came back into force and remained for the next two years.

Mayor Nils Ušakovs was quoted as saying last week that the ban on the canal slopes would remain in force for security reasons. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]grassy knolls alongside the canal, a favorite for students and youth trying to catch a few rays between classes, will remain.

The ban was first introduced in 2002 and uphold on several occasions. Rigans protested bitterly to the decision, but officials from the Riga park directorate defended the decision by arguing about the northern climate and the difficulty to grow grass.

A 2008 poll showed that 67 percent of Riga residents were against the ban. With this in mind, the then mayor Jānis Birks ordered a temporary cessation to the ban. However, once the experiment ended, the ban came back into force and remained for the next two years.

Mayor Nils Ušakovs was quoted as saying last week that the ban on the canal slopes would remain in force for security reasons. [/private_subscription 1 year]

— This is a paid article. To subscribe or extend your subscription, click here.