If you have a hankering to start doing sit-ups in Santa Monica, California in a public place, think again. It doesn’t matter if you grunt when you do a sit-up, or rise smoothly with the greatest of ease. There is a ban on such behavior.
Not all public places are affected by the ban on public displays of Pilate’s-like exercises, however. It’s also not for all types of exercise. If you are jogging, running, pushing a stroller or hopping forward on one foot (I added the last one), you are free to get fit.
The ban is only for staying in one place exercises–and only on grassy meridians medians. Being that folks in Santa Monica are such exercise hounds, residents who live around traffic meridians where these calisthenic lovers congregate finally became sick and tired of the commotion and complained.
People who exercise on meridians are not all that quiet –and they litter. Recently, police officers have been stopping people who crouch down for a squat thrust or even a calf stretch. Pick up a barbell and you’re in trouble. If the person who is exercising doesn’t amble away quietly, he or she could be fined up to $158. Of course, considering that Santa Monica is filled with gobs of beautiful people some homeowners who live around the meridians have not minded watching the exercisers one bit and are feeling some disappointment that their early morning entertainment has dwindled.
Because of the meridian exercise ban, people have been using the sides of the streets for their stretching routines. Be on the lookout if you’re driving in a vicinity of a meridian. It would be horrible to hit someone. You might find the most people near the corner of Fourth Street and Adelaide Drive. That’s where the most problematic meridian is located according to this article in The New York Times. That’s where I read about the ban.
There is a court date in January to determine if the ban is legal. The photo was taken at Waikiki Beach, Hawaii where you can do sit ups until the cows come home if you want to.