COVID brought people outdoors. Let’s keep them there

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is far from over even as the state begins to shed masks, will be felt for years. The impact will go beyond public health, and could change the way we go to work, enjoy our downtime and even the shape of our communities.

Many of these are changes that should be encouraged, and could help lead to a better, more inclusive Connecticut.

A number of towns have reported an increase in the past year of bicycling and pedestrian traffic, brought on by more time at home as schools and offices operated remotely. Officials in Fairfield, to name one town, estimate a 25 to 50 percent increase in people riding bikes in the past year, with pedestrian numbers rising even more.

Whatever the cause, these are trends that benefit everyone. Walking and bicycling are good exercise, but they also bring people together in a way that driving never can. There may be no better way to encourage community connectivity than to spend resources on bike trails and pedestrian pathways.

That doesn’t mean cars are going away. Our suburban state is far too auto dependent for a wholesale change in development patterns. But a variety of uses should be encouraged, so people can get where they need to go but don’t necessarily need to hop in their SUV every time they buy a gallon of milk. There are many ways to integrate better planning into existing communities, and those steps need to be encouraged.

On the work front, many offices that closed a year ago are back open or soon will be. With vaccinations on the rise and the worst of the danger from COVID likely in the past, companies are more secure about bringing people together. (Many jobs, of course, never went remote, including anything that requires in-person interactions.)

But here, too, there should be room for variety. Not every in-person meeting can be replaced with a video chat, but many can. Companies need to ensure workers are on the job even when they’re out of the office, but the past year has shown that business can continue even if not everyone is under the same roof. Allowing people flexibility to work from home in certain circumstances could come without a loss of productivity.

And the benefits would be widespread. Traffic on state highways dropped dramatically at the outset of the pandemic, though it’s mostly back to normal now. With congestion among our biggest transportation challenges, we should be looking for ways to get more people off the roads, especially at rush hour. The normalization of teleconferences should help get us there.

Connecticut is mourning the loss of thousands of lives due to COVID-19, and the road to normalcy still has a ways to go. Many businesses, such as bars, suffered blows they may never recover from. But we need to recognize some of the positives that may have developed in the past year and see that those aren’t lost.

Many state residents gained a semblance of worklife balance in the past year, and even more discovered a love of the outdoors. Let’s build on those gains.

Allowing people flexibility to work from home in certain circumstances could come without a loss of productivity.