Seattle Parks has just changed the closing time for “major parks” again. Now those parks – including Alki Beach Park, Lincoln Park, and West Seattle Stadium – are supposed to close at 8 pm. The full citywide list is here.
Yes we need to be smart and take precautions, but I’m getting tired of the government over reach. These are large parks with ample space and being outside is safer than being inside.
Well…..it’s about time! Protest should not be allowed after sunset
I recommend you watch the movie ‘The Hate U Give’ (currently on HBO if you have that), an easy way to try to increase your awareness of some complex issues, and after completing the movie, see if you still feel you have the right to tell people when they can protest.
It’s likely that people will naturally stop going to parks later with shorter days and colder nights but, agreed, being outside is better than being indoors. This should be encouraged, not discouraged.
This is idiotic, since we all know there won’t be any enforcement. Now that the Lincoln Park lots are closed, people just park in the ferry lineup lane. And we have clueless ferry goers making random lane changes and u-turns in the middle of traffic trying to get around them.
These park rules continue to make no sense. Are the parks busier after dark? Why the rule to close them at a time when they are less busy than during the day? Does coronavirus attack more at night? Of course not. The rules are more about riff raff concerns and nothing to do with the stated justification, the pandemic. The parking lot closures make no sense as well. It just floods the neighborhoods with cars, creates ferry line conflicts, etc. We can eat indoors at a restaurant but you can’t park at Lincoln Park? Again, the rules are out of touch from our parks department.
Self-entitled people are flouting the covid limits on congregation and folks think we shouldn’t bother them?
Just maybe if the people using the parks at night followed the same rules as the rest of us and didn’t leave them trashed with garbage the parks department could be more flexible?
Besides your biased anecdotal evidence, do you have any actual facts that state people at night are less likely to follow covid rules than during the day? Didn’t think so. You have other biases about night park users that seem to be clouding your judgement. If things are as bad as you state, than parks should be closed 24/7.
This announcement is irrelevant based on past trends. There will probably be zero enforcement after a couple weeks and people will go about their business. Alki has been LESS crowded past couple weeks. Like the playground closures, most people will ignore this silly rule at this point. Washington numbers continue to fall. Outdoor activity even with minimal distancing seems to have little relationship to virus spread. If you feel distressed about people being outside on a beach, stay home. Most of the non-distancing larger groups of people likely live outside of Seattle anyway (where playgrounds are open, oddly). What you should worry about is how miserable it’s about to get when it’s dark and cold and wet and there is nothing to do but stay inside, alone. Let the people enjoy the sun while it lasts.
We support the parks closing earlier, because it’s getting darker earlier, and we live and hunt here and nighttime is when we are most active, and it’s the only time we have some space and peace from human activity.
And all those nighttime runners with ponytails and buns are causing us some embarrassing confusion!
Thank you.
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