More Park, Beach Access? Perhaps Coming This Week.

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As cities and counties across the Bay Area begin to open up more public spaces, Sonoma County may join them in allowing more and freer access to parks and beaches as early as later this week.

Sonoma County Supervisors have been pushing for the changes as part of a measured reopening plan that would keep high touch, high density areas off limits, but at the same time open more activities like tennis, bocce ball and the like to public access.

The plan being considered would also allow walk or ride in access to public beaches for the first time in almost two months, under limited hours to discourage their use by out of town visitors.

The so called low risk activities being considered go beyond the current walking and hiking to include canoeing, kayaking, volleyball and other activities that do not require people to be in close contact.

A big change may be to open up parking lots at parks in the region, which have been closed under the current, more restrictive rules. Despite these rules many people have been parking in local neighborhoods in technical violation of the county health order.

Even if the changes come to pass, so called high risk areas in which people congregate, like campgrounds, playgrounds, picnic areas and the like would still remain closed, as would activities like swimming and sunbathing.

The state has issued rules that call for a steady two week decline in coronavirus cases, a public testing threshold, a cessation in deaths and adequate hospital capacity before counties can consider reopening dine-in restaurants, gyms, salons and other indoor spaces considered at high risk.