Parklets and “Streateries”

Enzo's Parklet in Herkimer

Enzo’s Pizza set up one of the first traditional parklets in Herkimer County in the summer of 2021. It beautifies Main Street and helps to create a sense of vibrancy on a block with new businesses. It also provides invaluable outdoor seating, enabling Enzo’s to serve more people during a pandemic and attract customers who may not be comfortable indoors. There’s space for this parklet right on Herkimer’s wide Main Street sidewalks.

Northfield Village Parklet

In Northfield, Vermont, the municipality applied for funding and set up this inexpensive parklet using stock tanks and picnic tables. It serves as outdoor seating for nearby coffee shops and restaurants and a rest place for bike tourists passing through.

Carbondale Multi-Purpose Parklet

In Carbondale, Colorado, this parklet serves multiple purposes. It’s outoor seating for restaurants. It has a bike rack on the side, allowing bikes to park without taking up sidewalk space. And it extends into the parking spaces, helping to calm traffic on this wide street.

Charlotte Pop-Up Parklet

Parklets often start as very, very temporary affairs. In Charlotte, NC, attendees at a conference built this conference setup and put it out on a street corner just for a day, to test the setup.

Laconia Park(ing) Day Parklet

There’s now an international movement around building parklets, and many communities participate in Park(ing) Day in September, building creative parklets just for a day. Laconia, NH set one up as a way to gather survey responses from people on the street.

Sacramento Mall Parklet

Parklets don’t have to be limited to parking spaces. You can set up a mini park anywhere there’s space, and instantly create a gathering space and a burst of activity. This Sacramento shopping mall used a parklet with giant lawn games to create an inviting place for shoppers to rest, making them more likely to stay (and shop) longer.

Bethel Better Block Parklet

Bethel, Vermont built a parklet out of old pallets and plywood, just for a weekend. It was part of a bigger Better Block demonstration, and served as the site for a pop-up taco bar on Main Street.

Montpelier Temporary Parklet

A growing number of communities — like Montpelier, Vermont — are adopting parklet policies that specifically support businesses in opening and testing parklets. The City sees parklets as a key economic development and COVID-19 recovery strategy. Montpelier now has a growing number of parklets, with some as simple as a metal barricade with cafe tables.

Montpelier Mobile Parklet

Montpelier’s first parklet was built by an architecture an architecture class and designed to be modular. It spent one summer on State Street. The next year, it was moved and adapted to become a bike parking hub on Main Street. In this third iteration, it has become a front yard park for the Senior Activity Center.

Capitol Plaza Garden Parklet

Montpelier’s Capitol Plaza parklet is far more than just seating. It includes a beautiful vertical garden, which adds beauty to the downtown streetscape and shields diners from the noise and dust of passing traffic.

Three Penny Taproom Accessible Parklet

Some restaurants are now making permanent investments in robust parklets that will last many years. The Three Penny Taproom designed this fully accessible parklet to serve all its customers.

Burlington Street Seats Pilot

Burlington, Vermont is another community experimenting with parklet policy. The City created a pilot “Street Seats” program. Restaurants could apply to use public parking spaces for parklets that exclusively serve their clients during certain hours. In exchange, they agree to allow the public to use the parklets in off hours.

Burlington Parklet Tiki Bar

These policies have sparked tremendous creativity in parklet design. Businesses and designers are creating parklets that are works of art and help create a stronger sense of place.

Photos ©Community Workshop LLC

Where: Everywhere!

What: Small, temporary “parks,” typically built in parking spaces, providing outdoor seating in downtowns

Parklets are small parks, public spaces or seating areas built in parking spaces or on large sidewalks. They may be as simple as a flat space with tables or benches or they may incorporate complex design, architecture, games or activities, or landscaping. Parklets are designed to be temporary and removable, but can last anywhere from a few hours to a whole season. “Streateries” are parklets that specifically offer outdoor dining options for restaurants.

Why: Offer essential outdoor seating and public space to support restaurants and local businesses, improve the streetscape, and create gathering places

Parklets have been growing in popularity around the world for years, most often in urban areas. But they really took off during the COVID-19 pandemic, when communities of all sizes saw the need for safe outdoor seating and gathering places. Parklets are typically located in downtowns or developed areas where neighborhoods lack typical parks, and where businesses and restaurants lack outdoor seating. They may be built and maintained by a specific business to expand seating areas outside. They may also be built by a community group or municipality, to serve anyone in the area. Parklets have proven to be an invaluable tool nationally, helping restaurants safely reopen and serve customers during the pandemic.

In addition to providing seating for restaurants, parklets have many other benefits. They increase vibrancy and street life, helping to revitalize struggling streets and downtowns and improve public safety. By extending into parking spaces, they can slow and calm traffic. And when designed creatively, they can be works of art, community building spaces, gathering places, and hubs for free family activities.

More:

• Join in on Park[ing] Day — Park[ing] Day is a growing international movement of people who create parklets on the same day in September around the world. The website offers a toolkit and lots of photos for inspiration.

• Get resources — There are dozens of toolkits and resources for how to design, build, and plan parklets. Here are a few good ones.

  • Compete Guide to Parklets and “Streateries” from Parkade

  • AARP’s intro guide, How to Create Parklet Parking Spot Park

  • ”Recaiming the Right of Way” parklet guide from NACTO (PDF)

Get Inspired:

• Just do it: Your first step can be as simple as taking backyard lawn furniture and setting it up on the street for an afternoon. Bring some games and make it a party, and see what happens. Check with your town for permission or zoning guidelines.

• Make a streatery: Many restaurants urgently need outdoor dining space to safely accommodate patrons and staff during the pandemic. Pop in and ask whether any neighborhood eateries are interested in teaming up on a streatery.

• Create a policy: A common barriers to parklets is local policies that don’t allow them (or haven’t considered them). Call your town or village office and ask what it would take to allow parklets.