France requires that its citizens limit their outdoor exercise to an area within a one-kilometer radius of their residence. While San Francisco has yet to impose similar restrictions, the recent clamor over crowded beaches, parks, and hiking trails has triggered some closures and warnings that more strict, anti-corona measures could be in the offing.
To test what that restriction would look and feel like, I’ve teamed up with my former writing colleague, Jeff Ballinger, who now lives in Paris’ Marais District, to impose a similar limit on my daily-and-exercise-life in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset neighborhood. We share our photos, observations, and cultural commentary in the photo essay below.
Near-Biblical sunsets are visible within my one-kilometer, Golden-Gate-Heights’ life-and-exercise boundary in San Francisco.
The streets of Paris are mostly empty during the confinement — the French term for the mandated limitations — with residents required to remain within a one-kilometer radius (a little more than half a mile) of home or face fines. There are exceptions for work or trips to buy necessities, but most people in Paris live within a kilometer of at least one grocery store, pharmacy and boulangerie. While it is incredibly tempting to jump on my bike and ride deserted streets, a sense of personal responsibility and a €135 fine are effective deterrents. The vast majority of people I’ve seen out riding a bike are those delivering food or pharmaceuticals.
Data and good manners suggest that runners keep at least 12 feet from others because of sweat droplets. Most runners in San Francisco seem unaware. Some also travel distances far beyond a one-kilometer boundary in part because there are no restrictions preventing them from doing so. With vehicular traffic still common, the dance from street to sidewalk, or vice versa, can create an unintentional pas de deux.
