How Is Covid-19 Impacting Life in Your City?

[Yuri]

Today with 3,100 deaths in Brazil, 1,000 deaths in São Paulo state. Completely out of control.

[SlidellWx]

As of Monday, 15.4% of the metro New Orleans population has been fully vaccinated. Things are progressing along nicely on the vaccine front here in New Orleans. https://ldh.la.gov/coronavirus/

[jtown,man]

Within a month, if the US continues to vaccinate the same amount of people (around 4% of US every week), and if we include people under 18 (who are 55x less likely to be hospitalized or die from Covid than someone who is 70+), we will have 66% of our population vaccinated or near vaccinated. That is incredible. Here in Chicago we have seen a slight uptick in cases due mainly to youth sports and other places mainly used by young people and even the health department lady (Arwady) said that she is hopeful that this won't translate into an increase in deaths.


Things are changing and its wonderful!

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

Within a month, if the US continues to vaccinate the same amount of people (around 4% of US every week), and if we include people under 18 (who are 55x less likely to be hospitalized or die from Covid than someone who is 70+), we will have 66% of our population vaccinated or near vaccinated. That is incredible. Here in Chicago we have seen a slight uptick in cases due mainly to youth sports and other places mainly used by young people and even the health department lady (Arwady) said that she is hopeful that this won't translate into an increase in deaths.


Things are changing and its wonderful!

Yep, and the rate of vaccination is accelerating as we have more supply and we finally are getting the logistics figured out.

I DO hope that some of the "I don't want the vaccine" hold outs will wise up and realize that hundreds of millions of people have already gotten the vaccine, it's safe, and go ahead and get it themselves.

[Camelback]

Starting today 3/24, everybody aged 16+ in the state of Arizona is eligible for a covid vaccine.

[Steely Dan]

the last i heard, IL was proposing 4/12 for everyone 16+.

so we're still 3 weeks out from really putting a lid on this bullshit.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

^ uggh -- i really dislike those suburbs that do not enforce building sidewalks. that's asking for trouble.

I agree.

Now that being said, what's with the joggers who jog in the street, even though there's a sidewalk? Even before the current pandemic, in my neighborhood, there are the joggers who for some reason don't use the sidewalk, even though there's no one on the sidewalk (like at 6:30 am) so I have to watch out for them while driving through the residential part of my neighborhood on my way to work.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I agree.

Now that being said, what's with the joggers who jog in the street, even though there's a sidewalk? Even before the current pandemic, in my neighborhood, there are the joggers who for some reason don't use the sidewalk, even though there's no one on the sidewalk (like at 6:30 am) so I have to watch out for them while driving through the residential part of my neighborhood on my way to work.

It's easier to jog on flat surfaces. And streets paved with asphalt are softer than concrete sidewalks.

[10023]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I agree.

Now that being said, what's with the joggers who jog in the street, even though there's a sidewalk? Even before the current pandemic, in my neighborhood, there are the joggers who for some reason don't use the sidewalk, even though there's no one on the sidewalk (like at 6:30 am) so I have to watch out for them while driving through the residential part of my neighborhood on my way to work.

I do this.

I run at a decent pace and sidewalks are generally too uneven, especially if there are curbs at every intersection. In a real city, vehicle traffic shouldn’t going that fast anyway and I’m not going to risk twisting an ankle or dodging strollers running on the sidewalk.

The worst are adults that take bikes on the sidewalk. If you can’t handle riding in traffic, don’t ride a bike.

And to bring the conversation back to Covid - I miss London’s deserted streets in April last year. They need to ban automobiles from a lot of roads permanently, especially the Regent’s Park Outer Circle.

[sopas ej]

I don't drive fast through my residential neighborhood, and the maximum speed is 25 mph.

Depending on the time of year, it's often still dark when I'm driving to work, and the street I drive down has those acorn-type streetlamps mounted on the shorter posts, which honestly don't really light the street too well (I feel they're more ornamental and light the sidewalk better than they do the street). Often the jogger(s) aren't wearing bright or reflective clothing. They do get over when they see my headlights coming from behind, but in the daytime sometimes they don't get over; I assume it's the ones who jog with their earbuds in, which I think is silly, because I think you should be completely aware of your surroundings while you jog.

And I also hate it when cyclists ride on the sidewalk.

[TexasPlaya]

Traffic in Austin seems to be significantly picking up.

Tons of people outside on the trails and walking the neighborhoods with this SoCal weather Texas gets for approximately 26 days.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I don't drive fast through my residential neighborhood, and the maximum speed is 25 mph.

Depending on the time of year, it's often still dark when I'm driving to work, and the street I drive down has those acorn-type streetlamps mounted on the shorter posts, which honestly don't really light the street too well (I feel they're more ornamental and light the sidewalk better than they do the street). Often the jogger(s) aren't wearing bright or reflective clothing. They do get over when they see my headlights coming from behind, but in the daytime sometimes they don't get over; I assume it's the ones who jog with their earbuds in, which I think is silly, because I think you should be completely aware of your surroundings while you jog.

I jog in the street when it's convenient, but would never do that at night in any city. I also try not to bike after dark. People really underestimate how hard it is for drivers to see people in the street when it's dark out.

[10023]

I generally run contraflow so that I can see oncoming traffic even if I’m listening to music. I can also promise that you will not see me jogging so early in the morning that it’s still dark out. Those people are psychopaths.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by 10023

I do this.

I run at a decent pace and sidewalks are generally too uneven, especially if there are curbs at every intersection. In a real city, vehicle traffic shouldn’t going that fast anyway and I’m not going to risk twisting an ankle or dodging strollers running on the sidewalk.

The worst are adults that take bikes on the sidewalk. If you can’t handle riding in traffic, don’t ride a bike.

And to bring the conversation back to Covid - I miss London’s deserted streets in April last year. They need to ban automobiles from a lot of roads permanently, especially the Regent’s Park Outer Circle.

You just keep making it clearer that you want the world redesigned for your pleasure and convenience. Lock up the old people so the bars and gyms can reopen, ban cars from the streets where you want to jog or ride your bike but certainly not from those where you need to drive.

Fortunately, the world has different priorities.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by 10023

I generally run contraflow so that I can see oncoming traffic even if I’m listening to music. I can also promise that you will not see me jogging so early in the morning that it’s still dark out. Those people are psychopaths.

Jogging early in the morning is quite common where I live; I see it as being akin to people who go to the gym at 5am. My former boss used to do that, because she would be in at work at 6:30am. My start time at work is 7am, and I often get to work by 6:50am. I only live 8 miles away from my job, so I leave for work at 6:30am, and like I said, depending on the time of year, it's still dark at 6:30am, and by then, there are quite a number of joggers and dog walkers out there. I've seen people walking their dogs even at 5am.

[Crawford]

That's a CA thing. West Coast is insanely early to rise, early to bed. It always messes me up every time I'm there. Maybe it's the more body conscious/less drinking environment?

I remember a bunch of friends going out to dinner at 10 PM once, and my buddy from CA looked at us like we had two heads. Gotta hit the gym at 4 AM, apparently. Our office, pre-pandemic, wasn't really full till 10 AM.

[Pedestrian]

Traffic is coming back, can public transit be far behind?
MARCH 23, 2021 BY MARK PRADO

There have been several reports(link is external) in recent days that traffic is on the upswing in the Bay Area.

A drive through Marin County on Tuesday afternoon bore that out: Highway 37 was busy, cars were stacked up waiting to go east on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and traffic consumed northbound Highway 101 lanes in the central part of the county.

It would be logical that as more people are vaccinated against the coronavirus, more vehicles will be back on the roads. As traffic increases, public transit will become an attractive option.

There are already reports of increased ridership(link is external) on public transit . . . .

https://blog.bayareametro.gov/posts/...-be-far-behind

On the other hand:

'Stranded': Only 85% of Muni service returning by 2022 in struggle to restore lines
Mallory Moench
March 23, 2021
Updated: March 23, 2021 6:21 p.m.

Muni plans to bring back 85% of service by January 2022, as the agency struggles to restore lines while facing hiring and financial troubles after a year of scaled-back service.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is currently running 70% of pre-COVID service. While the agency plans to restore some subway and streetcar lines in May, with cable cars returning by the end of the year, the L-Taraval, M-Ocean View and K-Ingleside Muni Metro trains likely won’t restart until early 2022, Director of Transit Julie Kirschbaum told the SFMTA board last week . . . .

Muni ridership was still down 76% in January compared to the previous fiscal year, but supervisors said service needs to return as the city reopens and traffic worsens again. The agency is “looking forward to recovering our ridership and supporting getting people to work, school, and other outings such as we did pre-pandemic,” agency spokeswoman Erica Kato said. But the public health crisis has exacerbated Muni’s hiring and budget challenges that now make restarting lines after a year difficult.

Approximately 100 operators have been promoted, retired or are no longer working for the agency for other reasons since training stopped in early 2020, Kirschbaum told supervisors Tuesday. The agency is restarting hires after a freeze over the past year to save money, but training takes time. The agency is on track to train up to 50 more rail operators in a 13-week course by the end of August . . . .

https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/ar...e-16047792.php

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Crawford

That's a CA thing. West Coast is insanely early to rise, early to bed. It always messes me up every time I'm there. Maybe it's the more body conscious/less drinking environment?

I remember a bunch of friends going out to dinner at 10 PM once, and my buddy from CA looked at us like we had two heads. Gotta hit the gym at 4 AM, apparently. Our office, pre-pandemic, wasn't really full till 10 AM.

It's also a legacy from when the economy on the west coast was largely made up of "branches" of older companies on the east coast that operated from 9 to 5. So the west coasters had to adapt their hours (to some degree) to be able to talk to their colleagues in New York, Boston, etc.

[Pedestrian]

SF Pride 2021 to include in-person festivities
But parade, Civic Center celebration still on hold due to COVID
LESLIE KATZ
Mar. 24, 2021 9:00 a.m.

On the 51st anniversary of San Francisco’s famed Pride celebration, 2021 festivities won’t include the huge, iconic last-weekend-of-June parade or crowd-filled Civic Center bash, but will feature an expo, films at the ballpark, Juneteenth and Black Lives Matter programming and other local celebrations throughout the entire month of June.

Citing health concerns as the pandemic continues, Pride officials announced today that 2021’s programming, including some in-person gatherings with safety protocols in effect, will focus on local people and helping independent Bay Area businesses and nonprofits.

“Our mission of connecting the LGBTQ+ communities of San Francisco and the Bay Area remains unchanged,” Fred Lopez, executive director of San Francisco Pride, said. “Knowing how deeply people miss being together, we’ve worked tirelessly with our partners at City Hall, public health and elsewhere to ensure a number of incredible, safe experiences. SF Pride this year will be all about locals, from queer-owned small businesses to fellow nonprofits that have displayed true leadership over this past year. It’s truly a Pride for the people.”

With a date and location to be announced, the Pride Expo, officials say, will be more like a resource fair than a festival concert. There won’t be scheduled entertainment, but there will be a “safe forum for LGBTQ+ vendors, merchants and nonprofits to reconnect with the community, engaging with potential volunteers, customers and clients,” a news release said.

While 2020’s Pride was largely online, this year’s event also includes Pride Movie Night at Oracle Park on June 11-12, in partnership with Frameline, San Francisco’s long-running international LGBTQ+ film festival, and the San Francisco Giants. Details about the film lineup and ticketing will follow . . . .

https://www.sfexaminer.com/the-city/...n-festivities/

[Steely Dan]

i moved all of the off-topic kids walking to school discussion to its own thread: https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=246337