Plymouth Delays Opening of Beaches, Urges No Play on Playgrounds
From beaches to playgrounds to annual events, COVID 19 is impacting Plymouth.
One example is Parkers Lake Park. With a beach, play area and trails, it’s a hot spot in the summer. The beach at Parkers Lake Park opens June 15. However, there are new policies in place.
“We will not be lifeguarding it this year, but you are free to swim. We will have buoys set out,” said Kari Hemp, Plymouth’s recreation manager.
Plymouth encourages people to come out and enjoy everything the lake has to offer, but also urges everyone to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
“Along with that we will put up some educational information and make sure that your kids are wearing lifejackets,” Hemp said. “Make sure that they’re staying within arms reach if they can’t swim and really keep an eye on them. We really want to make sure that we can prevent drownings this year.”
Plymouth won’t deploy lifeguards this year at Parkers Lake beach.
Public spaces and playgrounds in Plymouth remain open to the public. Once again proper spacing is important and large group gatherings are discouraged.
“We are not sanitizing those areas,” Hemp said. “So make sure that you are following the guidelines put out by the CDC, MHD and the DNR along with wearing masks as appropriate and respecting other park users.”
Plymouth Cancels Outdoor Events
Meanwhile, Plymouth has canceled all outdoor events and youth recreation programming through June. Some outdoor programs could start in late June.
“You can get connected with Parks and Recreation through all of our virtual programming and some of our virtual kits,” Hemp said. “You can find that on our website.
According to Hemp, the pandemic has created some tough challenges for the city.
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“It has been an impact to everyone in many different areas,” Hemp said. “Every thing from recreation, to being out in the community, to restaurants, all of our businesses. Even our health care professionals and all of those who have to go out, emergency professionals. Our heart goes out to all of them. We really hope that in the future things will soon be back to normal.”
