Madison, Wis. Mayor Paul Soglin will be bringing a proposal before the city’s common council Tuesday night that if passed, will add public benches to the city’s park smoking ban, thereby making it illegal to light up while waiting for a bus or simply catching a break.

As it stands now, the proposed change also includes a ten-foot buffer zone around the benches. As it stands now, the city prohibits smoking in parks, beaches and the zoo, as well as near the entrances to municipal buildings and along parking ramps.

Soglin told the Wisconsin State Journal that he is submitting the proposal after receiving comments and complaints from non-smokers.

Once introduced, the proposal is expected to be referred to one of the council’s committees for further evaluation.

Madison is the capitol of Wisconsin and the state’s second largest city with a population of just more than 240,000 people. It’s also the county seat of Dane County, located about 80 miles west of Milwaukee.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.