Communities make space for people by blocking cars

IT CAN be hard to stay the recommended six feet away from your neighbour on a crowded pavement.

So some have taken matters into their own hands, using cones, plant pots and printed signs to block off streets or parking spots from cars and make more space for pedestrians, joggers and cyclists during the pandemic.

In west London, a project by Barnes Community Association has led to a few hundred feet of parking spaces being repurposed as designated areas for people waiting to go into local shops since late March.

“We started to receive a few calls from shopkeepers saying customers keep complaining that while they’re queuing outside on the pavement it’s practically impossible to respect social distancing,” said Raphael Zacharyyounger, trustee of the association.

The group, which has close links with local councillors, decided that the council would not have time to deal with the issue so instead made the decision to engage in some “tactical urbanism” using cones bought from Amazon.

“We started with two parking bays outside the two most popular businesses that were still open, and the feedback from residents was that the shopkeepers were happy, the customers were happy. Within a couple of weeks we extended it to the whole shopping parade.”

The group is now in discussions with the council to make the change permanent. Another project in east London by a local group, Tactical Urbanistas, involved a series of planters full of flowers placed to create more space for shoppers queuing to get groceries, though these were removed by Tower Hamlets council, citing safety issues.

Other examples have appeared in Cambridge, Bristol, Canada and the US.

In Oregon, PE teacher Sam Balto temporarily closes his street in Portland for 45-minute activity classes for local children every day, and has created a template for others to follow.