Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton says the city is having "mixed results" enforcing social distancing guidelines at city parks -- and will be taking more steps to limit access.
The scene may be relatively quiet at Lexington parks these days, but Mayor Gorton says keeping people from gathering at the city's parks has been a challenge.
"We have had very mixed success in our parks during this beautiful spring weekend," Gorton says.
That's despite stepping up monitoring of parks, taking down basketball, volleyball, and tennis nets, along with soccer goals. So Monday, the mayor announced the city will be closing all playgrounds, shutting gates to parks when possible, and closing all public restrooms and parking lots associated with them.
But that said...
"Our parks remain open to joggers and walkers," the mayor explains. "We ask you to go to the parks, do your part, and do not go in groups. Stay six feet apart from those around you."
Lexington recently shuttered popular nature areas Raven Run and McConnell Springs in a bid to further halt the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The latest announcement echoes pleas by the governor for residents to stop congregating on golf courses and at home improvement stores, as the state begins to see an expected escalation of COVID-19 cases.
