The other came very much into focus last weekend where a combination of it being both sunny and warm lead to situations where some parks and beauty spots were so full that the two metre distancing rule couldn't be met.
That meant they were closed or that people were ordered to disperse.
It had to be said this was mainly in the larger cities and that it was a huge issue in London where a good number of people do not have gardens and many be in tower blocks with little more than a small balcony.
This means that for those especially with children there isn't anywhere for them to have a runaround and exercise because communal facilities are so small you couldn't keep kids apart.
The other thing is that period of exercise is up to an hour and as one distraught London parent put it by the time I've walked to the park with my son arriving by the gate, we have to turn back to go home cos it's taken half an hour.
It's also the case some come early and claim spots for picnics which are discouraged as it leads to more people being sat right next to others.
I don't think not manning the parks, leavng unsatisfactory situations to develop to the point the local police have to step in really is the answer for places like London.
Children above all need fresh air and open spaces and as Margaret Hodge, a London MP said maybe we need to look at some sort of limiting to ensure most children do get a fair chance for say an hour at the park.
It may mean something liked timed ticketed entry with staff who might be volunteers to see to it people keep with in that as well as taking into account how long it takes to get to the nearest park before counting the hour of exercise.
The same people can deal with hogging spots and hours of picnicking which take away much needed space to play safely.
Simply threatening to shut down parks altogether as the Health Secretary appeared to suggest last Sunday doesn't seem to be an intelligent response to a very real concern.
No comments:
Post a Comment