The best way to fight the coronavirus is to stay home, including exercising indoors. But most of us have small apartments, and from time to time, we need to get fresh air and exercise outside.

Most Hoboken sidewalks are only a few feet wide and are too narrow for people to follow social distancing best practices and stay 6 feet apart. The waterfront is where there is the most available space and where the city goes to exercise, but the existing space is too narrow.

That is why we are asking that the waterfront walkway along Sinatra Drive be temporarily widened by closing the street to car traffic and opening it for exercise.

The cities of New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Calgary are implementing similar street closures to provide space for exercise.

Hoboken has closed Sinatra Drive in the summer for recreation and for festivals. With the Stay-at-Home order and the suspension of street cleaning, there has been a dramatic reduction in car traffic. If Sinatra Drive does need to be used to respond to an emergency, it is easy to move a barricade or cones to the side.

We the undersigned groups and individuals ask Mayor Ravi Bhalla and the members of the City Council to give Hoboken residents the ability to exercise while following recommended social distancing practices by closing Sinatra Drive to car traffic.

Co-sponsors

Fund for a Better Waterfront: betterwaterfront.org

Bike Hoboken: bikehoboken.org

New Jersey Bike Walk Coalition: njbwc.org

The Climate Mobilization, Hoboken: @tcmhoboken

VonHof Cycles: vonhofcycles.com

Bike JC: bikejc.org