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Blaming Ourselves for Crowded Parks Misses the Point: There Aren't Enough Parks
(In These Times) Across the United States, local authorities have sealed off public parks and open spaces, blaming visitors who failed to maintain social distance. What started with closed urban playgrounds spread like a contagion in its own right. In California the city of Santa Cruz banned surfing. In Colorado San Juan County issued an order threatening to tow vehicles belonging to backcountry skiers. Socially distant gradually became synonymous with indoors.
It was only a few weeks ago that going for a hike was seen as a reasonable way to shelter in place. Then the sun came.
Beachgoers and picnickers turned out en masse, making headlines from San Francisco to London. Mayors and governors scolded the public on live television as they announced new restrictions.
A common refrain on social media lamenting the park closures has been, Why cant we have nice things? But blaming ourselves for crowded parks misses the underlying issue: In many parts of the country, there simply isnt enough public space to go around. ..........(more)
http://inthesetimes.com/rural-america/entry/22544/covid-19-recreation-closed-public-lands-outdoor-spaces-parks-trails-beaches
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Blaming Ourselves for Crowded Parks Misses the Point: There Aren't Enough Parks (Original Post)
marmar
Jun 2020
OP
TrunKated
(210 posts)1. You can blame both...
Frankly, its not worth it to me to go to crowded spaces. I don't want to get or give this thing to the older and sicker people in my life.
delisen
(6,042 posts)2. Bingo ! Yes we need more public space !
stopdiggin
(11,296 posts)3. And you need to PAY for it
And maintenance, upkeep, protection and enforcement .. is traditionally pretty low priority and gets short shrift when it comes to budgets. (take a look at what your jurisdiction or municipality is doing) There's a whole lot of education that needs to be done.