I’ve been asking the mayor to open the Gloucester High School track so we can have a safe space to exercise where maintaining social distance doesn’t require stepping into traffic.  To be clear, the track has ALWAYS been locked, pre-COVID and pre-extensive renovations due to the flooding. The tennis courts, ball fields, bacci court, Burnham’s field and O’Malley track (which is pavement and in terrible shape and not regulation length and doesn’t provide the soft surface that’s better for our legs than pavement) are all open, but not the track at the high school. I’ve gotten mixed messages from the Mayor, first siting social distancing, then siting that other public areas that are open (the boulevard and beaches) are “destroyed” (her word, not mine)-yet they remain open. Finally I was told by the Mayor (and this is a direct quote from email) “It’s closed and going to remain closed. It’s was closed since it was totally replaced. The track is very fragile. That’s what we know, even during graduation ceremonies they don’t want us walking to much on it. The track needs to be opened when there is someone watching it, a care giver, he doesn’t work at the track during summer, Unless needed. It’s not going to open, the skate park is closed but kids use it when they are not supposed to. Bocci court is opened. I’m not going to go back and forth about closure. I don’t run the schools. I go by the school Committee and DPW recommendation and it was suggested it to be closed. Closed it will remain.”

Please note, the Gloucester High School track is the only track in the area that is locked (Beverly, Hamilton/Wenham and Ipswich tracks are all open to the public without restriction). Gloucester is the outlier here.  I guess the other locations care about providing their citizens with safe places to exercise that were paid for with tax dollars as well as donations from residents. 

I’ve also emailed Mike Hale of the DPW and have heard rumors that the track is open M-F 6AM-1:45. I can say I’ve been by at 7 AM on multiple occasions and it’s not open, and it should be open weekends, also, when the roads and sidewalks are even more crowded with people. So far I’ve been unsuccessful in getting the track opened. I personally have been running daily and wearing a mask but often I come upon people not wearing a mask and I’m forced into traffic - which is safe social distancing wise but not safe traffic wise! Please sign so we can petition the powers that be (the mayor, Mike Hale of the DPW) to open the track so we can exercise!