Following the example of major cities like New York and the District of Columbia, Mayor Michael Hancock announced on Friday that residents will have more space, as of Saturday, to safely walk, bike and run while complying with physical distancing required during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Denver will close segments of East 11th Avenue, Byron Place, Stuart Street and East 16th Avenue.

“We’ve heard from all of you on Twitter and other forms of social media that this was important to you,” Hancock said in a Friday video announcement on Twitter. “The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure will be announcing today roads that will close to really encourage people to get outdoors and feel safe walking and biking and enjoying outdoors with the proper physical distancing.”

The mayor said the city will also be looking for additional roads and streets that can be closed during this time.

Denver City Councilman Chris Hinds tweeted on March 24 that he had asked Hancock to consider closing certain streets, particularly in parks, to increase social distancing opportunities while walking and biking.

“Ten percent of Denver has no sidewalk at all,” he wrote, “and another 30% of Denver’s sidewalks are narrower than 4′ wide. Considering we’re to maintain at least 6′ between each other, even a 4′ wide sidewalk isn’t wide enough to achieve distancing requirements.

“We’re all sheltering at home, so there are far fewer demands for drivers who need to get from A to B, so let’s use those streets for people,” Hinds said.

Roads that will be closed to thru-traffic as of April 4 include:

• East 11th Avenue from Lincoln Street to Humboldt Street
• Byron Place from Zenobia Street to Stuart Street
• Stuart Street from 24th Avenue to 21st Avenue
• East 16th Avenue from Lincoln Street to City Park Esplanade

The city’s transportation department said in a statement on Friday that other areas being considered for closure are “neighborhoods with greater population densities where there’s a greater need for space and where adjacent parks are seeing significant use and reaching capacity. Areas of the city that don’t have immediate access to a park or trail are also being prioritized.”

Although the roads will be closed to thru-traffic, the city will still allow people who live on the street or residents who need to access a destination on the stretch of closed roadway to access the street.

“We asked for it and got it,” Ean Tafoya, an environmental activist, tweeted on Saturday. “This shows you the power of people. Time for rent/mortgage cancellation.”