Reopen parks, says city councillor
Coun. Ian Froude plans to make a motion for the change in two weeks
At the regular Monday St. John’s city council meeting, Coun. Ian Froude said he will at a future meeting of council make a motion to modify the restrictions currently in place within many city parks in order to allow travel through the parks and open spaces via wheelchair, walking, running, and biking, but keeping playground structures, sports courts and dog parks closed.
Froude told The Telegram he expects his notice of motion will be on the next council agenda in two weeks’ time.
Froude called city parks equalizers — giving people access to space they might not otherwise have in their lives.
“These spaces matter to someone because it could be a visit to the park with their kids to get away from an abusive spouse. Or for some, our parks may be the only place where they can get around in their wheelchair and feel safe, as many of our sidewalks and other public spaces aren’t yet built for them.”
He said the city could be putting residents at greater risk by limiting their access to the parks because it could mean congested sidewalks with people moving out onto city streets in order to maintain a safe physical distance.
“Despite the lesser amount of traffic right now, there is still high-speed traffic throughout our city. We can’t expect people to hop in and out of the streets to get away from other individuals as they follow physical distancing advice,” he wrote in an email to The Telegram.
Froude suggests the city could safely reopen parks by allowing people to move through the parks, but not permitting sitting and lounging in the parks. He said people could travel clockwise around bodies of water and trails so there are fewer opportunities for interaction, and the city could encourage people to use their neighbourhood parks and trails rather than visiting Bowring Park and Bannerman Park, which tend to be more frequently used.
“If necessary, we could encourage distancing in those parks using staff patrols,” he wrote.
In a virtual scrum with reporters after Monday’s council meeting, Mayor Danny Breen said the city will take direction from the province’s public health measures when it comes to deciding whether or not to reopen city parks.