Michael Alexander sends this post from the Riley Park Farmers Market:
The ancient ones have the first half hour of the Saturday market to themselves. But there were a lot of them. The entry line stretched from the market entrance back to Queen Elizabeth Park at 29th Street, around the corner and halfway down that block.
The line did move very quickly. And, unlike the first weekend after the markets were declared essential services, customers were socially distanced throughout.
Obviously, a sidewalk can’t accommodate a queue like this as well as walkers. But in this time of physical distancing, it’s about width as well as length. The ‘six feet separation’ we all know about – but when lined up we tend to think it’s the distance between those in front and behind. We also need width, and no standard sidewalk is fully sufficient for even pedestrians passing each other.
While in this case, the boulevards and adjacent lawns are available, in many cases it’s only the roadway that provides the needed width. The priority is clear.
