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IT'S PART OF A NEW PLAN TO PROMOTE EXERCISE...WHILE KEEPING SOCIAL DISTANCING IN MIND. We've all been encouraged to get outside and keep active - with so many of us cooped up at home staying safe from the virus. But in Burlington, Vermont - where playgrounds are now closed, the city worried its popular bike path could get too popular - making it hard to keep that six-foot social distance. So roads in certain more densely- settled areas are now closed to thru traffic - giving new dad Tom McCarran a chance to easily walk with his daughter Eve down the middle of the street in the South End. ((TOM McCARRAN / Burlington Resident: 36:21: everyone is walking and strolling in the streets and you'll see people - one walking on the sidewalk and one in the street, so they're 8 or 10 feet apart while they go for a walk together.)) Burlington's mayor talking about the shared streets concept - in one of his Covid-19 briefings. ((Voice of: MAYOR MIRO WEINBERGER / Burlington, VT: :45: the idea here is to give everybody in the community more space to get outside, do what they need to do outside, and to do so safely.)) We spotted an inline skater, a dog owner, a bicyclist and more all enjoying the newfound space where cars used to be. For people who need to drive on the affected streets - because they live on them - they've been told to keep their speeds way way down. ((EMMA STEER / Burlington Resident: 47:30: we've seen a lot of kids playing in the street. It's new, definitely, like a silver lining in all of this. There's still joy and good stuff happening. MIKE MEMBRINO / Burlington Resident: Definitely. A lot of kids out.)) ((JACK THURSTON: Now this initiative is rolling out in phases.

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A new approach to promoting social distancing in the era of COVID-19 has some streets in Burlington, Vermont, looking quite different.The city has closed certain roads to through-traffic in more densely-settled areas, to provide residents with extra room to walk or recreate, so they don't jam up the sidewalks.GET THE LATEST: Download the MyNBC5 app"Everyone is walking and strolling in the streets," observed new dad Tom McCarran, who was pushing his 4-month-old daughter in a stroller in the middle of a street in Burlington's South End Thursday. "You'll see people—one walking on the sidewalk and one in the street, so they're eight or 10 feet apart while they go for a walk together."We have all been encouraged to get outside and keep active, with so many of us cooped up at home staying safe from the new coronavirus.However, Burlington leaders worried the city's popular bike path could get too popular—making it hard to keep that six-foot social distance.Mayor Miro Weinberger talked about the concept of shared streets in one of his recent COVID-19 briefings."The idea here is to give everybody in the community more space to get outside, and to do so safely," Weinberger explained.Thursday, NECN and NBC10 Boston spotted an inline skater, a dog owner, a bicyclist, and more all enjoying the newfound space where cars used to beFor people who need to drive on the affected streets, because they live on them, they've been told to keep their speeds way down."We've been seeing a lot of kids playing in the street," said Emma Steer of Burlington. "It's been definitely, like a silver lining in all of this. There's still joy and good stuff happening."The initiative is rolling out in phases, according to city officials. Burlington's public works director, Chapin Spencer, said there will soon be more streets in more neighborhoods that'll be limited to local traffic only during the COVID-19 crisis.The city has also closed its playgrounds, basketball courts, and tennis courts, the Burlington Parks, Recreation, and Waterfront Department recently announced.