As we all struggle to adjust to the many challenges that have to be faced during the Covid 19  crisis, many of us are only able to take permitted exercise in public spaces, such as parks, footpaths, or cycle paths. Due to the number of people trying to exercise, it  can be nigh on impossible  to run, walk, or cycle with the correct distance between each other in order to keep safe from possible transmission of the virus.  Parents who want to walk with small children, or push buggies, the elderly, or folk using wheelchairs, are particularly disadvantaged on crowded pathways. Police can also struggle to enforce the physical distancing needed, simply because there is not enough room for everyone to be mobile.

  Many cities across the world, such as Berlin, have temporarily closed some roads to motor vehicles while there are fewer on the roads, and offered alternative routes for them. Local authorities in such cities have placed markers for additional cycle and walking routes on public roads. This has relieved pressure for those who need to exercise and the authorities needing to police this much needed activity. 

We call on the Secretary of State for Transport to empower and encourage local authorities in the UK to do this. As part of the raft of financial support now  being made  available, we strongly urge him to provide further funding for councils  to progress these measures ,for the safety and well -being of all.