Editor:
I don’t get involved in political issues, but this is personal and directly affects anyone who loves the ocean and the bay. Mayor Faulconer has just ordered the closure of all City-run parks, beaches, trails, boardwalks, and bays.
This measure is overly broad and serves no purpose. People who go for a paddle in Mission Bay (or who launch from a city park or beach to paddle in the ocean) aren’t close to anyone and aren’t putting anyone at risk. The same is true of those who want to walk on the beach, surf, or bike or jog around the bay.
Gov. Newsom quite correctly included outdoor exercise as an exemption from his “stay at home” order. Outdoor exercise has been proven to boost the immune system and improve both physical and mental health. This order by the mayor’s office merely makes outdoor exercise less effective and more dangerous (because walkers and joggers will have to use city streets).
Heavy-handed, meat-cleaver actions like this aren’t addressing an existing problem. If large gatherings are the issue, then crackdown on large gatherings. I’ve been paddling on Mission Bay and going to the park in Bird Rock and other beach-side areas since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak and there have been no gatherings of any sort on the bay nor on the boardwalk around the bay. People in the Bird Rock area are also being intelligent and avoiding clustering together. This senseless and excessive restriction needs to be rescinded immediately. More sensible and selective measures can be implemented instead. David Rearwin
San Diego