People continue using recreation trail for leisure despite City of Monterey restricting use to commuters only
MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) Under shelter-in-place orders, many are spending the majority of their days at home. But outdoor exercise is considered an essential activity. So peninsula residents are flocking to the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail to get some air. But the City of Monterey says the trail is not meant for recreation right now. It's only supposed to be for commuters.
And those commuters are encouraged to wear masks.
"There aren’t very many ways to get to the other side of town because of the tunnel," Monterey Assistant City Manager Nat Rojanasathira. "We need to keep the rec trail open for commuter traffic."
That commuters-only policy is marked on signs along the trail to notify the public. But some residents say the signs are ignored, and they disagree with the policy anyway.
“I don’t even know why the signs are there because people don’t even go to work,” Pacific Grove resident Paulina DeSantis said.
“Instead of just going to and from work, you should be able to see your other part of the city that you live in,” Monterey resident Brianna Tybor said.
City officials said they understand the need to get exercise, especially when many are cooped up all day, working from home. So they're offering alternatives.
"We’re continuing to encourage use of parks and neighborhoods for outdoor activities, but also remind the public that it is very difficult to maintain that six feet social distancing on the rec trail," Rojanasathira said.
But the rec trail isn't the only place where the city is having trouble getting people to socially distance. With temperatures rising, the beaches in Monterey were busy over the weekend.
“Well, there was beautiful weather and we didn’t want to stay home any longer,” beach visitor Lindsay Bolin said.
And with many people sitting out in the sand, they were violating the city's partial beach closure. That order is still in place this week and prohibits passive uses of the beaches.
But police are not enforcing it. Instead, the city said police efforts are focused on education for the time being.
City officials also said they'll continue to evaluate the need for the partial beach closure on a weekly basis moving forward.
