Rantz: Seattle ends sitting ban in coronavirus park policy
Apr 28, 2020, 8:47 PM | Updated: Oct 8, 2024, 6:42 am
Alki Beach (Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
The city of Seattle rescinded a ban on people sitting on benches in their coronavirus park policy. The ban appears to have lasted only a few days.
The “Keep it moving!” policy during the pandemic restricted park-goers at Alki Beach to running, bicycling and walking only. Citing previous “significant crowding at Alki Beach,” Seattle Parks installed a form of “hostile architecture” throughout the area.
Seattle officials installed long wooden boards across the benches, making it very uncomfortable to sit or lay down.
'Keep It Moving' now also includes a ban on sitting. Reader photo: pic.twitter.com/cAo5rVP2qT
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) April 23, 2020
Coronavirus park sitting ban pulled back
Residents understandably pushed back at this rather ridiculous ban. First reported by the West Seattle Blog, residents noted that many elderly people sometimes need a quick spot to sit on their walk. Boarding up an entire bench when one can safely distance oneself while on a bench seemed extreme.
Seattle officials also put up “caution tape” around picnic tables because there’s definitely no ability for the average person to get around that booby trap.
The city argued that this helps prevent overcrowding at the park. But does it?
In the early days of the coronavirus, Seattle residents flocked to the beach and sat next to each other on the ground — not just on park benches. If the beach and park are going to be flooded with people, boarding up benches won’t be much of a deterrent.
It also brought up valid concerns with the coronavirus park plan regarding how people living with disabilities might be able to use a bench for temporary respite during a journey outdoors.
Also: People could still sit around the barriers. Here’s an adorable old woman forced into a torture position just to give her old, weary legs some rest. She struggled because of Seattle Parks.
Got @seattleparks response on Alki bench-boarding this morning. Added to https://t.co/qVmUfTYMG5 Also got this reader photo of a bench ban defier. pic.twitter.com/oeoz6kaWbM
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) April 24, 2020
The walk back
This part of the coronavirus park plan was so silly, the city quickly retreated. On the same day they made an announcement about the move on Twitter, they posted their update.
“Earlier this week the parks department placed barriers at benches to help encourage visitors to keep moving and avoid congregating,” Seattle Parks announced on Twitter. “Understanding that our seniors and those who are differently abled use benches to temporarily rest, we’ve decided to replace barriers with signs that indicate benches should be reserved for those who truly need them. We appreciate the feedback we received and hope these changes will make our parks more accessible for all.”
Now @seattleparks crews are DE-boarding Alki benches. pic.twitter.com/lPMCItZc1I
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) April 25, 2020
It’s almost like this whole thing could have been avoided by using just an ounce of common sense. Seattle Parks wasted time, resources and money on a foolish, ill-conceived plan.
I wonder what their next bad idea will be.
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