SOUTH PORTLAND (AP) — City councilors say people gathering on sidewalks to smoke is becoming a growing problem in South Portland.

The Portland Press Herald reports the issue was raised Monday as city councilors approved a measure that banned the use of tobacco within 25 feet of a school bus stop. The council also added electronic smoking to the tobacco products banned from the city’s public parks and recreational facilities.

Councilor Claude Morgan raised the issue of sidewalk smoking at the request of a constituent because tenants of a housing authority complex crowd the sidewalk and smoke as a group. He says many set out chairs and leave piles of cigarette butts on the sidewalk and in the gutter.

Mayor Tom Blake says officials may need to have a workshop on the subject.

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