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>> Don MacNeill donmacneill@bellalia --00000000000074aef505a43315fd Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hear hear. You cant lock down forever and the virus will still be there when it ends regardless. Protect those who need protecting. Onward! On Sun., Apr. 26, 2020, 11:13 Bev Wigney, <bkwigney@gmail.com> wrote: > All, > > I've been reading all of these back and forth and tried to restrain > myself from commenting, but find myself compelled to speak up. Surely > these must indeed be "end times" when I find myself in almost mutual > agreement with David W. on a certain topic. (ha!) > > I do have serious concerns if this ban on outdoor walking along public > trails or other suitable public spaces continues for very long. Some > of these decisions are being made at the provincial and others at the > municipal level. While I can well understand closing provincial or > certain other parks where people were congregating or using shared > facilities such as picnic tables, park benches or washrooms, or where > they were traveling to, and/or mobbing certain popular locations, I > think things have probably gone too far. Before I continue, I should > mention that I'm one of the "lucky ones" who has a couple of acres of > wooded property with river frontage and have only left my place twice > in all of 6 weeks -- so I'm not actually much effected by all of these > closures. However, I do have serious concerns about how all of these > closures will effect many people. I belong to a "caremongers" group > and know that a number of people are having a really difficult time > handling the stress - some having stressful family situations such as > caring for elderly parents, etc... and wanting to go for a walk along > the French Basin Trail to relax (it's now closed). There has been > some tension over restrictions against walking on public trails in my > area and while I haven't joined in on the protests, I certainly > understand how many people are feeling. > > I believe there are plenty of ways in which certain areas could have > been kept open for use - those that people can walk or bike to access. > The one-way direction is certainly the easiest solution. Limiting > access will not be good for many people -- their bodies or their minds > - if this continues for very long. I have only to think back to 3 > years ago when I spent an entire year in urban Ottawa caring for my > mother through her terminal illness. I was pretty much limited to > walking my dogs on the roadside within sight of her house - largely > due to having no relief caregiver, but also due to lack of any green > space close by. Between the incredible stress of caring for her > through treatments and hospitalizations, combined with the inability > to spend even a half hour in some open place with some greenery in > which to stretch my legs and eyes, I was just about ready to go out of > my mind after even 4 weeks -- but it went on and on for over a year > and certainly took its toll on my physical and emotional health. > Let's hope that the powers that be have some workable plan in place > for "what happens next" if people can't start spending some time > outdoors very soon - and I don't mean just walking a loop on the > streets of towns and cities. Quite frankly, closing the Harvest Moon > Trail to walkers (at least along large stretches if not entirety), > strikes me as unnecessary. It's a very wide trail where physical > distancing is easy. So, now we have no walkers, but the ATVs are still > blasting back and forth along it as though all is well with the world. > I should know -- the trail goes right along the back of my property > and the engine noise hasn't abated whatsoever. > > Further, as we have recently learned, almost all biology field work > has been shut down for this year, even when physical distancing is > possible. This will eliminate all kinds of data collection and also > valuable work experience for university students. Again, there is > little danger in such situations if precautions are being taken. Why > shut down such worthwhile programs while, at the same time, it appears > that forestry work is going ahead the same as usual judging by all of > the heavy road-building equipment and forestry machinery that went > roaring along Hwy 201 yesterday. I just checked and the spring road > weight restrictions will be off as of tonight in most NS counties, so > no doubt, everyone is getting prepared to tear into the forests > tomorrow. Yet I've heard from a few that the public is not to be > permitted into Crown Land forests due to Covid. Can anyone confirm > that for me? > > We are told that many of these restrictions are in place in the event > that we have an accident and require medical assistance or rescue. > Truly, how many walkers are in need of rescue? It is far more likely > that it will be ATVs and forestry crews who would be in need of rescue > or medical assistance than someone walking on a quiet trail. > > Bev > Round Hill > > On 4/26/20, David Webster <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote: > > Dear All, > > > > Provincial Parks are closed in NB but Municipal Parks remain open > > at the discretion of each county. So far as I know Municipal parks ther= e > > never have been closed this Spring but early on they adopted one way > > traffic only and have urged the public to not bunch up and to respect > > the 6' spacing. This is sensible and so far has worked. They have 41 > > cases. How that compares per capita with NS I do not know offhand. > > > > In most trails the sides are not fenced so slow walkers could step > > off of the path to let others pass. > > > > We are very dependent upon those who work as clerks in grocery > > stores. In spite of various protective measures I have noticed a gradua= l > > increase in anxiety. 'Keep calm and carry on' is better motto for these > > difficult times than 'be very afraid'. The staff of small outlets > > clearly are afraid. > > > > One store in Kentville which also used to act as a Post Office > > refuses to let customers in the store. Orders must be placed and paid > > for by phone and picked up at an arranged time. Mailing a document > > recently took several hours over two days; and a long wait indoors in > > the PO lineup. > > > > Getting back to Miners Marsh the difficulty of 6' spacing is, unde= r > > normal conditions, hypothetical excepting a few pinch points. And > > adapting. Depending upon wind direction one should walk clockwise or > > counterclockwise in cold weather. One could limit the number of hikers