Now that cops appear to be stationed in all our parks, maybe we can get them to do the following:
- Turn off their engines. Idling causes air pollution. Air pollution causes and exacerbates asthma. As per the CDC, “People with moderate to severe asthma may be at higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19.“
- Model the behaviors that residents are being told to practice, starting by maintaining a minimum of 6 feet of physical distance
- Get out of their cruisers (when it’s not raining) and do something useful, like pick up litter or help out with other park maintenance. At minimum, get out of the cruisers and walk around.
We can also ask if it is necessary to have police in all the parks. On a return visit to Pope Park (see post about previous experience) meant encountering three people walking around, all individually and in opposite parts of the park; there were two vehicles in the lot, and one was a police cruiser. Bushnell Park had a few more visitors, but either people who with there by themselves, with one other person, or walking dogs. The ultimate Frisbee games have stopped. Why not take this resource and use it for dealing with the excessive speeding that’s going on right now, or do foot patrols around the neighborhoods?
