We are not an imaginative bunch.

All it takes is a sunny weekend day and there are reports of parks being “overrun” with people. After decades of complaints that Toronto is cut off from the lake by the Gardiner and rail corridor, it’s like everyone discovered the waterfront at once. Don’t even mention the High Park cherry blossoms, still weeks away.

This week, Canoe Landing was on the list of parks that were experiencing overcrowding. As it’s surrounded by many thousands of people who live in small apartments in the City Place neighbourhood, this is essentially their only backyard.

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The City of Toronto is so far refusing to give any of the vast amount of space reserved for cars over to people walking or bike riding, forcing this kind of concentration in the limited spaces that are available.

For now, then, it’s up to us to figure this out lest the onerous trend of posting snitch photos of people outdoors leads to a more complete closure of parks and public spaces.

We can do this. Toronto is some 44 kilometres wide, plus the GTA beyond it. Most of it, unlike the places that are getting all the attention, is not crowded. Indeed, even the waterfront park system is vast and most people, from my limited trips there, are practising good physical distancing.

Still, there are other places to go.

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Here, then, is the list of the best places to walk for mental health and exercise during this semi-lockdown: your home. That’s it. There is no other place on the list because anywhere else risks being overrun.

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Instead, there are strategies to develop your own, secret, list of places to stretch out in while avoiding crowds. Make evading people a game, an adventure. Get your kids involved in it. If the park you go to is busy, immediately turn around and go somewhere else.

Look at a map of your neighbourhood. Are there streets you’ve never walked down before, places where there are no landmarks of particular interest? Leftover spaces like hydro or utility corridors? Walk there. Above all, avoid places that might be on a postcard.

The GTA still has vast amounts of non-residential and currently idle commercial areas, neighbourhoods you probably never paid much attention to but might be close by. These are good places to walk now, from one empty parking lot to another.

Now is the time to look for details previously overlooked, like the strange things people do to their houses and yards, or noting the various places of worship that inhabit many former factories and shops now. There are enough details like this to keep the mind and body busy for a long time.

If you can find these nearby, but out of way, places, do it, because not everybody is able to travel beyond their nearby park. If you’re not using a park, there’s a bit more room in it for somebody who desperately needs a brief bit of space and fresh air.

If you’re comfortable doing so, take your walks at night, when the streets are much emptier. Again, not everybody is able to do this. I stay indoors most days and take an evening walk, usually after dark. It’s like using the city in shifts. This can apply to running, too.

For road cyclists, despite some reckless drivers who take advantage of low traffic, the motoring equivalent of price gougers, the streets have never been emptier. Stay away from shared trails if you’re comfortable riding elsewhere. Give people who can’t ride on the road, space.

Whatever mode of exercise you’re using, take it slow. As the cliché goes, this is a marathon, not a sprint. If people are walking with kids, give them even more space as they can be erratic walkers. Round corners with caution. I run and walk up the middle of one-way streets, against the sparse traffic. Do so if you’re confident of your ability to watch for cars.

Couples, for the love of everyone else, please don’t hold hands. If you’re too insecure to walk in single file when others are around, the relationship wasn’t meant to be.

There are still going to be inconsiderate and oblivious people who don’t share space, move aside or give way. With so much tension already, I’ve tried to flip the anger I feel towards them into something more positive. A sing-songy “excuse me” with a smile if it feels right, other times just quietly going around, and moving along and away from them. Lead by example.

Your secret routes and strategies will likely be different than mine. None of this is perfect, or equal, but it’s a profoundly imperfect and unequal time, and the outdoors remains one of our most precious resources right now.

We can do this, let’s not blow it.