City of Melbourne encourages social distancing by park users

With the easing of Coronavirus measures in Victoria seeing residents returning to urban parks, City of Melbourne Chief Executive, Justin Hanney is encouraging park users to maintain social distancing while using the city's green spaces.

Advising that the council will be installing physical distancing circles across four parks to encourage people to stay safe this spring and limit the spread of COVID-19, Hanney stated today “the three metre painted circles will be installed across Princes Park, Flagstaff Gardens, Kings Domain South, and Buluk Park in Docklands.

“This morning, City of Melbourne officers will begin marking out circles for groups or individuals to sit inside. Each circle will be two metres apart and it’s estimated that around 30 circles will be installed in each location.

“The first circles will be installed at Princes Park in Carlton this morning, near the corner of Park Street and Royal Parade.

“The physical distancing circles will help ensure that people enjoying our parks remain at least 1.5 metres apart.”

Pointing out that the City of Melbourne is not responsible for enforcing physical distancing restrictions, Hanney added “like COVID-19-related signs and masks, the circles are meant to act as a visual reminder for people to use parks safely by practicing physical distancing.”

The initiative follows physical distancing circles installed in Brooklyn New York, San Francisco and London.

The pilot program will be reviewed and possibly extended to other parks across the municipality.

Image of the City of Melbourne's social distancing circles courtesy of City of Melbourne.