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On my midday walks/runs around the neighborhood I've realized we have some new norms to adopt if we want to continue to have the freedom to go outside (HERE COMES A THREAD):
1) The grass between the sidewalk and the curb is not hot lava that will kill you. If you are on the street side of the sidewalk and someone is coming toward you, WALK ON THE GRASS. Most sidewalks are not six feet wide. Gotta get off the sidewalk to be socially distant.
2) It's great to see families out for walks together. Beautiful. But if your family unit is walking along and sees someone coming your way, WALK IN SINGLE FILE. Most paths are not wide enough to stay 6 feet away from a four-person pack walking side by side
3) Do not -- I repeat DO NOT -- ride your bike on the sidewalk. Do not attempt to teach your child to ride a bike on the sidewalk. There's no way to ride a bike right on the edge of a sidewalk, ergo no way to stay 6 feet away from someone on a bike on a sidewalk.
4) YES indeed, if you see someone coming your way on the sidewalk and you're able to safely do so, cross to the other side of the street and continue your walk/run there https://twitter.com/libbyanelson/status/1245745572176375808
5) And then there's all the obvious bad behavior that we never should have been doing in the first place and must stop immediately:
-don't walk in the middle of the sidewalk
-don't walk staring at your phone
-don't spit (!!!!!)
-don't walk in the middle of the sidewalk
-don't walk staring at your phone
-don't spit (!!!!!)
And this is less of a norm shift and more of a behavior change I've needed to make: I I need to walk/run less in the middle of the day. I keep coming back from runs angry that other people are not following the rules -- which defeats the purpose of a stress-busting run...
...I hate to say it but my 6am, predawn runs are much less crowded and therefore more pleasant than my 3pm runs.
(In other news I'm finally buying a Peloton today)
(In other news I'm finally buying a Peloton today)
Whee I turned this thread into #content for my first @nytimes byline: "Rules for Using the Sidewalk During the Coronavirus" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/05/opinion/coronavirus-walk-outside.html
