Access to the Tidal Basin in Washington D.C. was restricted after being overwhelmed by visitors. | Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Closed parks have made it harder to access public space. But for some neighborhoods, it was never easy The trumpet trees bloomed hot pink against a deep blue sky, a visual proclamation that spring had arrived. As I rolled toward the entrance of our local park, my two young kids in the wagon we use for picnics, I recoiled, quickly pivoting away from the dozens of people dotting the grassy hillsides. A packed park usually provides a glimpse of our fellow humans at play against a much-needed backdrop of nature, but in the COVID-19 world, it?s a danger zone.
As the first weekend of spring began, nearly 100 million Americans had just been ordered to stay home to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. But judging by Instagram, all of them appeared to be outside, swarming narrow hiking trails, posing beneath pastel-blossomed trees, and strolling bustling beaches. Data from 31 trail counters across the country managed by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy showed that trail usage from March 16 to March 22 increased almost 200 percent compared to the same week in 2019. By Sunday night, public shaming campaigns had started to play out across social media and on national TV broadcasts. Mayors across the country pleaded with residents to keep six feet apart, while health officers made increasingly urgent statements about the importance of st...