Philly Parks Will Now Be Patrolled By Social Distancing Ambassadors!
Philly Parks Will Now Be Patrolled By Social Distancing Ambassadors!
Remember back in the day at school dances there were chaperones there to ensure kids weren’t slow dancing too closely? Maybe, I am showing my age but now Philadelphia is doing their own chaperoning at city parks.
The city is stationing a team of employees to patrol several high-traffic recreational areas to encourage social distancing to help flatten the curve. As the city prepares to move into the green phase, the Mayor wants to ensure Philadelphians are still adhering to social distancing guidelines.
These “social distancing ambassadors” will be there to remind and encourage park goers to stay six feet apart and wear masks whenever possible. Some areas you’ll be seeing the social distancing ambassadors are Kelly Drive, the Schuylkill River Trail and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
The social distancing ambassadors have been instructed to do the following:
1. Greet park visitors.
2. Provide a warm and welcoming environment for all.
3. Track park usage, trash, and other site needs.
4. Ensure that Parks & Rec is responsive to community needs.
5. Provide visitors with information to keep themselves and others safe.
6. Encourage safe park behavior such as making sure visitors: Maintain six feet of distance between others and wear face coverings when possible.
7. Practice what we preach. City of Philadelphia employees are wearing masks and practicing social distancing! Parks & Rec knows we are in this together and that we must lead by example.
While these ambassadors will patrol highly visible areas in the city, some City Council members are lobbying to have ambassadors in neighborhoods as well. Councilman Isaiah Thomas even wrote a letter to Mayor Kenney explaining how ambassadors could even help ease tensions with police. In addition Councilman Thomas explained that communities of color have disproportionately higher cases of COVID-19
“Stationing ambassadors within communities of color – and hiring from within the neighborhoods – would ensure the focus of enforcement remains on social distancing,” Thomas said.
“With the tension that is here, not just in Philadelphia but across the country, as it relates to policing we want to make sure that the conversation is taking place and there’s a certain level of trust and people are not targeted because of anything but the need to social distance,” Thomas added.
Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted &if we are going to specifically focus on it, how do we assure that doesn’t continue to happen? The people we ask to go into the communities to encourage people to #SocialDistance themselves must be people they can trust. https://t.co/s9ytRXm0Jk
— Councilmember Isaiah Thomas (@CMThomasPHL) June 17, 2020
