Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson and Volunteer Park will begin closing at 8 PM as part of Seattle’s ongoing efforts to cut down crowding in its most popular public gathering spaces during the COVID-19 crisis.
“This weekend is Mother’s Day and I want to remind everyone – the best thing you can do for your mother or grandmother is stay home. Please do not gather at our parks”, Mayor Jenny Durkan said in a statement. “We are not out of the woods, and we owe it to our moms and grandmas to fight COVID-19 with the only tool we have: social distancing.”
A Cal Anderson hand washing station
The city will have 60 “Social Distancing Ambassadors” in its parks this weekend “reminding people of this change,” according to the mayor’s announcement.
The Seattle Police Department will be “assisting in closing these parks at 8pm,” the announcement reads.
Other parks now closing at 8 PM include nearby Judkins Park and the Arboretum as well as Alki Beach, Carkeek, Discovery Park, Gas Works, Golden Gardens, Green Lake, Kubota Garden, Lincoln Park, Magnuson, Seward Park, West Seattle Stadium, Myrtle Edwards, and Woodland Park.
Cal Anderson and, to a lesser extent, Volunteer Park have been flashpoint locations in the changing level of social restrictions — and the neighborhood and visitor observance of the guidelines — over the weeks since the outbreak began.
Following a few attempts in March to clear Cal Anderson, SPD has told callers it would not be responding to social distancing complaints but it does regularly patrol both Cal Anderson and Volunteer Park.
With its densely packed population and many residents living in apartments without yards, the Hill’s parks have been a refuge for many seeking a place to stretch their legs and get outside. But issues that were sometimes problems even before the restrictions like people gathering to let their dogs play off leash have continued and occasionally intensified.
With what could be a busy Mother’s Day weekend for the parks, the city did not move to close its most popular spaces as it did Easter weekend. This time, Seattle is asking people to consider new destinations — here are a few ideas from CHS — and is reminding park visitors of social distancing guidelines:
Keep It Moving in parks. Parks are open for running, walking, and biking. Do not come to the park to have a picnic or gathering. If we all keep it moving, more of us can use the park without it getting crowded.
· Stay Home and Stay Local. If you have to get in the car, it’s probably too far. Use your back yard, walk in your neighborhood, use a neighborhood Safe Street, or visit your local parks. We have over 485 parks in the city, and over 94% of us live within a 10 min walk to a park.
· Stay home if you are sick, wash your hands frequently, and if you visit a park, make sure that you can give yourself and others six feet of space.
· Motorized boat ramps, tennis courts, basketball courts, play areas, athletic fields (except for walking through), picnic tables/shelters, and other high touch amenities are closed.
While street parking along Cal Anderson remains open — and free during the outbreak — parking areas inside Volunteer Park should remain closed, the city says.
Thursday, Durkan said Seattle’s initial set of Stay Healthy Streets will become permanently closed to most vehicular traffic and get new, long-term signage. The closest set of streets to the Hill in the program can be found in the Central District where a portion of the neighborhood’s greenway along 25th Ave S has been dedicated to “people living in the neighborhood for walking, rolling, and biking.”
King County reported six new COVID-19 deaths through Wednesday bringing its total to 480 since the start of the outbreak. 891 have now died across Washington state. King County’s rate of new cases and deaths has slowed — but, so far, has remained stubbornly above zero.
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