State and county parks will be permitted to reopen at sunrise Saturday, but you better be careful – Phil Murphy will be watching.

And if he doesn’t like what he sees, they’ll be closed again as swiftly as they reopened.

So, let’s all go out and have a good time.

Drama notwithstanding, the governor’s announcement today about reopening parks and golf courses was not as clear cut as it seemed.

There are rules and strong recommendations that must be followed.

Congregating in groups is out and all visitors must practice social distancing. There are also rules about limiting capacity. Fields, playgrounds and rest rooms will remain closed.

How about masks?

The governor did not say masks are required, but he strongly recommended that people wear them.

“We’re prepared to trust you,” the governor said.

But this trust seems to have a short leash. More than once, Murphy said that if authorities observe parks filled with groups of people not wearing masks, he’ll close them again. He darkly warned that if
people think reopening parks is reasonable, he could be “unreasonable” very quickly and close them again.

As for reopening them now – just in time for what Murphy envisions as a “beautiful spring weekend” – the governor said there’s nothing abrupt about the move. He said all of his edicts during the pandemic
are constantly reviewed.

He said parks are being reopened because “the curve” is flattening, or at least not rising. Additionally, he said the move is in line with what’s happening in neighboring New York and Pennsylvania.

Murphy’s move early this month closing county and state parks while allowing town officials to make their own decision on municipal parks may have been his most unpopular pandemic-related order.
Opposition has come from Republicans, but also some Democrats and public advocacy groups. That opposition was renewed just the other day when Assembly Republicans publicly asked the governor 12 questions about the lockdown, two of which had to do with keeping parks and golf
courses closed.

Closing parks has resulted in more people walking and jogging on sidewalks and streets throughout the state. It also challenged public health standards. Even without a pandemic, the health benefits of
exercise and staying in shape are well known, and probably more critical when people are home most of the time.

The governor acknowledged hearing many complaints about closing parks, something he calls  “incomings.”  But other than those who said parks are good for the “mental health” of the public, Murphy said he was unmoved by the criticism. In fact, he called it “irrelevant.

That seemed a bit cringe-worthy.

Yes, leadership requires a CEO to make decisions based on facts, data and what’s good long-term, not public sentiment.

At the same time, it doesn’t seem prudent for an elected official to ignore what his constituents are saying.