Shutdown: It’s arbitrary to close trails, open malls

Happily, we had our little grandson for the day recently and wanted to take him for an outside nature walk. Our choice was the Nathan Chapman Memorial Trail that cuts through woods and wetlands, joining South Hill Community Park with Heritage Recreation Center, a public athletic complex.

The trail is a wide, paved route that connects to a loop trail at South Hill Community Park. It’s a pleasant walk we’ve taken before.

The day we went, it was closed, gated off, though it was open the previous week and being enjoyably used by dog walkers, joggers and kids being pushed in strollers.

So we drove to the South Hill Mall. It’s open and most everyone was wearing a mask. Social distancing, not so much; it was crowded with folks waiting in line outside stores.

I don’t get the rhyme or reason that you can’t enjoy a nature walk but you can stand in line outside a store.

I’m glad to see stores able to serve the public again, but it seems whimsical to close walking trails and parks while proclaiming it’s better for our health

This story was originally published July 11, 2020 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Shutdown: It’s arbitrary to close trails, open malls."