How to Save Summer 2020

Summary of full story written by New York Times Editorial Board, originally published on Apr 25, 2020

“A balance can be found to be both safe and outdoors,” reads the headline of this opinion piece that examines how cities are dealing with providing opportunities for recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beaches, Parks, and Gardens

The article starts by looking at beaches, city swimming pools, parks, gardens and golf courses from New York to Dallas to Boston and considers numerous tactics for controlling density and enforcing social distancing.

Close Down the Streets

It then considers a timely discussion in numerous U.S. cities as to whether to experiment with street closures to allow for safer recreation. There may be no better time than now, given the low traffic counts in New York, San Francisco, Washington, and other cities compiled by StreetLight Data. 

“Oakland’s open streets initiative — which opened 74 miles of streets to pedestrians and cyclists this month — was particularly easy to carry out because the city used traffic data already collected for the creation of its bike lanes.”

Read the full New York Times article to learn more about bird watching, (remote) dance parties, drive-ins, and other activities peaking across America.

Explore StreetLight’s transportation metrics to learn more about how your team can measure street activity for virtually every roadway, park, and city block across America.