[URBAN NOTE] "City asks Pokemon Go makers to remove pokestop from ferry terminal"

[rfmcdonald]

This is amazing. From the Toronto Star's Oliver Sachgau:

After a few weeks of being the most popular mobile game in recent history, Pokemon Go is now facing backlash from the City of Toronto, who are trying to mitigate the crowds playing the game at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal.

Hundreds of people have been camped out almost 24 hours a day at the park by the terminal, hunting for virtual pocket monsters on their phone. The park and surrounding area is also the site of nine pokestops – in-game locations where players congregate. Players have also been setting up lures – bait that attracts more virtual monsters to the stops.

The end result is a constant crowd of hundreds of players at all hours of the day and night, hoping to be the very best like no one ever before.

Matthew Cutler, spokesperson for Toronto’s parks and recreation department, said the city has reached out to Niantic, the game’s developer, to move some of the stops to other parks and ease the pressure on the ferry terminal.

“We love the game. We love what it’s doing in terms of bringing people into the public realm. We’re just of the mind that there may be a better park in the city for this kind of concentration of play,” he said.