Once again, you can’t turn anywhere without hearing the lie that City parks were shut down over the weekend. We heard similar untruths throughout 2020.

How do these rumors get started?

Windshield bias is largely to blame. This is the inability to understand how to interact with the world in ways that do not involve cars. It’s the unwillingness to see anything from a different perspective.

People have been free to use Hartford’s parks — yes, including Pope and Colt — throughout 2020 and 2021. The photo with this post was taken over the weekend, from inside Pope Park, when it was rumored to be closed.

You could walk in. You could ride a bicycle in. Scoot in. Take a wheelchair. Skateboard. Crawl. You could get off the bus right at the park. Over the weekend, Pope Park was the site of many picnic blankets on the lawn and kids running through the Pope Manufacturing Company-inspired sprinklers. There was nothing preventing people from watering their community garden plots. In videos and photo albums of the caravan, you can see people in Colt and Pope Parks.

Even in 2020, the rumors were easy to dispel. People were always able to enter Goodwin Park; a parking area even remained open to cars there, and nothing prevented visitors from using that lot. The same holds true for Keney Park. People were able to roam around Elizabeth Park, looking at flowers, without worrying about motorists driving around the garden, distracted by their search for parking or trying to take photos while behind the wheel; unfortunately since then, a portion of Elizabeth Park has been given back over to motor vehicles.

Every year, folks come to Hartford from other towns, even from out of state, for the festive first weekend in June. Many have not shown the city respect while here, doing burnouts and blowing car horns at all time of day and night. Every year, there are collisions. That means people getting hurt, sometimes seriously. Despite false claims on social media, there has been violence in past years — again, not at the official parade and festival, but at the unsanctioned celebrations.

The parade and festival organizers in 2017 spoke about their decision to pause the event that year, citing increased costs, but also the need to redefine the celebration’s purpose. As an organizer said: “The new generation thinks the parade is just about going down the streets and waving our flag, but it’s so much more than that.”

To their credit, they’ve been trying. The official plan for 2021 was a caravan with limited floats down clearly defined streets, ending with a festival at Parkville Market. The plan was communicated in advance, through many channels. The official event was well attended, though there were still those who seemed to think “going down the streets” was the whole point, and there was no shortage of cringeworthy behavior. The parade organizers themselves have spoken out against these displays, saying that the reckless behavior is disrespectful and not representative of the culture.

At the same time, this year was quieter — at least in Frog Hollow. Usually, on parade weekend, my windows stay closed, no matter how hot it is. The non-stop squealing tires, 24/7 fireworks, and car horns — not to mention exhaust fumes and smell of burnt rubber — make this necessary. This was the first year in memory, aside from the two years the parade was cancelled entirely, that I could open my windows on the first weekend in June.

What made the difference?

There are lots of things we could point to. One: the portion of Park Terrace that acts like an extended highway ramp has been closed for construction. The same roundabout project impacts a section of Russ Street. So, already, it becomes more confusing for out-of-town visitors to navigate if their goal is to drive around and around. Then, there is the street calming that covers a few more blocks of Russ Street. People can still drive their vehicles around, but there is no more straight shot down Russ possible. This made a noticeable difference for those simply trying to walk anywhere over the weekend. Instead of attempting to make it across bumper-to-bumper traffic, while people are driving erratically, it was mostly like any other day.

Simply changing up the parade/caravan route, no doubt, made a difference.

The other thing that happened? Instead of being reactive, the City of Hartford was actually proactive for once. Usually, we will see half-hearted cat-and-mouse antics from the police on Park Street. This time, they got out there early and directed traffic so that the road was not a car sewer all day long.

The result? Calmer streets where families could more safely walk or bike to their neighborhood parks.

All of this is to say that when you hear (or read) someone going off about something they find grossly unfair, stop for a minute and ask questions before assuming it is entirely true. Knowing that vehicles, when handled carelessly, cause injury and death, it is grossly irresponsible to enable a free-for-all. Good for the City of Hartford for making what may be a politically unpopular, but practical decision. It’s not without precedent. There are parking bans and vehicular street closures during every parade, the marathon, and various other events, and the areas declared off-limits for cars are those where the events are happening.

To recap:

  • Park Street was open all weekend for people on foot, bicycles, wheelchairs, scooters, and skateboards.
  • City parks were open all weekend for people on foot, bicycles, wheelchairs, scooters, and skateboards.

It was only cars that were restricted anywhere.