Children’s birthday parties pack playgrounds. Soccer games lure dozens to city parks. Fencing around outdoor basketball courts is ripped open to make an entry for pick-up games.

In Mobile, the site of still bustling parks has city officials worried at a time of strict social distancing to slow the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, the Mobile council voted to do something about it by adopting a resolution prohibiting congregating.

While cities from Dallas to Atlanta have ordered all residents to stay inside unless it is absolutely necessary to go out, while Birmingham is debating do the exact same thing, Mobile is still trying to reason with residents.

Today’s measure is more procedural and doesn’t close any city parks. But the supportive council members said it sends a message that people need to “stay home” and take the pandemic seriously.

“If we don’t come up with something, we’ll be fighting this virus next year,” said Mobile City Councilman Fred Richardson, the sponsor of the resolution, who was inspired to push for the resolution after driving by parks this past weekend and witnessing them “packed out.”

“It’s like the governor nor anyone else said anything,” Richardson said, referring to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s public health order on Thursday that prohibited gatherings of 25 or more people and backed the nationwide social distancing measures of people being separated by 6 feet or more.

‘Reducing frequency’

The defiance in Mobile hasn’t been mirrored in most Alabama cities where there have been more confirmations of the COVID-19 virus. As of Tuesday, the state has 217 confirmed coronavirus cases with Mobile County at just five. But testing has also been slower in Mobile, and cases have been soaring in other spots along the Gulf, from Florida to Louisiana.

In Birmingham the city is considering a “shelter in place” ordinance establishing a curfew until April 3. But city spokesman Rick Journey said he was unaware of any violations of social distancing guidelines in the city’s public spaces. Birmingham is the largest city in Jefferson County, which leads the state in 90 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

In Huntsville, a city spokeswoman said officials are “really stressing social distancing and sanitation.” Huntsville is Madison County’s largest city where 21 people have been tested positive for coronavirus.

Elsewhere it’s a mixed bag. In Decatur, the parks and tennis courts are open, but playgrounds and public restrooms are closed. Mayor Tab Bowling said residents are doing “an outstanding job” of following the state and federal guidelines.

In Muscle Shoals, tennis courts and golf courses are only open where the city can monitor the social distancing restrictions, according to Mayor David Bradford.

But some cities have had to address crowding at parks. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said he recently signed an executive order enforcing a dawn-to-dusk curfew at public parks following problems with people ignoring social distancing. “Curfew has been a tremendous asset in reducing the frequency,” Maddox said.

In Dothan, the city closed its playgrounds because the city saw a “heavy use” of them, according to City Manager Kevin Cowper. But he said that, overall, gatherings at public parks have not been much of a problem.

Closer to Mobile, the city of Fairhope recently closed its public pier on Sunday following images this weekend of large crowds walking along it. The council also closed several other parks, including the northern portion of its beach and a dog park. The city’s South Beach Park remains open, but parks with playgrounds are closed.

The beaches are empty in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, following Ivey’s order last week to close them. Signage instructing people to keep a safe social distance are being installed at parks and boat launches in Gulf Shores.

‘Need to be at home’

None the cities reached indicated that they were adopting resolutions prohibiting congregating. The Mobile ordinance urges Mayor Sandy Stimpson to consider closing city properties where congregations are occurring with the exception of locations where people are gathered for COVID-19 testing, or “other activities necessary to fight” the outbreak.

“Every time I turn CNN on, the number of cases are going up,” said Mobile City Council President Levon Manzie said. “The number of deaths are going up. Whether (the resolution) is symbolic and keeps someone from going out to our parks, then we’ve done our jobs. Right now, they need to be at home.”

The two council members voting against the resolution were Councilmen John Williams and Joel Daves.

Williams said he believed that Ivey’s order last week was effective enough, and that city action could be “confusing” to the public. He also said that the resolution doesn’t instruct police to do “anymore than they can” or already have done.

“The governor has made it clear that it’s against the law to congregate in (groups of) 25 or more or in any instance where the 6-foot distance cannot be maintained,” he said. “I don’t know how else to say it than that.”

Daves said his opposition to Richardson’s resolution wasn’t an indication that he supported large gatherings on public property. But he said that the city’s public safety division under Stimpson’s purview has “all the authority” to break up large gatherings in violation of Ivey’s orders.

“I just don’t think that enacting this resolution makes it less likely that people will gather together in large groups,” said Daves.

‘Separating is key’

Mobile, and other areas of coastal Alabama, have been struggling with social distancing restrictions for the past two weeks. During the weekend of March 14-15, while social distancing warnings were sounded nationwide and organized events were being canceled, several local bars and restaurants continued with St. Patrick’s Day weekend festivities, one of which included a large street party gathering. Images circulating on social media included one event where revelers stood next to homemade sign mocking coronavirus.

Last week, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach and other areas explored unprecedented beach closure measures while spring break raged with large crowds along Alabama’s beaches.

Mobile city officials said that last weekend, some of the park problems included broken padlocks and ripped up fencing surrounding outdoor basketball courts. Shonnda Smith, the city’s senior director of parks and recreation, said Mobile officials are removing basketball rims to keep the crowds from gathering at the basketball courts.

But James Barber, the city’s executive director of public safety, said the issues around Mobile haven’t been “huge” and that police will be able to enforce a strict adherence to crowd size restrictions. He said he didn’t see the need for the council’s resolution.

“There have been some resistant people,” said Barber, who said his department is working with city attorneys to determine what other measures they can use.

“We are trying to avoid incarcerations for non-violent minor offenses as well,” he said. “We have what we need to break up gatherings of 25 or more.”

Councilwoman Bess Rich said the measure was the least the council could do during a crisis that she fears could overwhelm the city’s health care system.

“The point is that separating is really the key right now,” said Rich. “It’s the one known we can all participate in.”