It’s time to rethink our restrictions on parks, open spaces
This is a challenging time in our world and our city, as we all deal with the restrictions and risks from COVID-19.
In March the City of St. John’s, along with numerous other municipalities, restricted access to many city parks and outdoor amenities with the goal of assisting with social distancing.
I have argued against restricting access to our parks to such a degree. I believe that we should create as much public space as possible so that people can get outside, and move around outside safely. We should be treating our vast outdoor spaces as assets rather than the liabilities they are currently being considered.
It’s important that we all take care of our mental and physical wellbeing. Physical activity and doing so in the outdoors are real ways to achieve that. I feel that, even within this pandemic, that we should not lose sight of the other problems we as a province and a city face. Public spaces are equalizers. They give people space when they may not have it in their lives otherwise. 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. And many do not have their own outdoor space. The parks have always been their backyards.
We should take the approach of creating as much public space as possible so that we can, in a safe way which minimizes the risk of contracting the virus, get outside and enjoy the few short months of nice weather we see in this place.
There are about 43 parks, 3,000 hectares of open space (that’s 37 times more area than Bowring Park), and 134 km of trails.
I’m also fully supportive of suggestions put forward by Coun. Maggie Burton, to create more spaces in our streets that are safe for pedestrians, kids and adults on bikes, people using mobility aids, and any others. We should make sure that everyone has a real option in their neighbourhood to get outside and move around safely.
It could be that on a beautiful day; we are putting residents at greater risk through the restrictions that are in place.
There are also still many people that are out because they need to be — to get groceries, pick up medicine, or get to work. It’s important they have a safe place to be outside. Once the weather improves, and many people get out — which we have already seen for short stints — it could mean congested sidewalks, or people jumping in and out of roadways. 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.
The federal and provincial governments have said that it is safe to get outside and walk, bike, run, or roll; as long as you follow physical distancing rules. They recognize that these are essential human activities — to move and to be outside.
To do this well, we could: Allow walk, run, and roll through parks and open spaces. That could mean no sitting and lounging, but provide broad open space for movement.
Travel clockwise around bodies of water and trails so there are fewer opportunities for interaction, as suggested by Deputy Mayor O’leary.
Strongly encourage people to use their neighbourhood parks and trails rather than visiting Bowring and Bannerman Park, which tend to be more frequently used. If necessary, we could encourage distancing in those parks using staff patrols.
Keep playgrounds, sports fields, and courts closed until a time when we are confident they can be safely used.
This virus is changing how we go about our lives. It will likely do so for many more weeks or months ahead. It is because this is looking to be a new-normal for an extended period of time that we need to discuss the options with our parks and open spaces. I’ve put forward some ideas in this letter, and I hope to hear many from others.
Ian Froude Councillor Ward 4 City of St. John’s