Parklets

The program supports nonprofits and other groups who want to build parklets and outdoor dining spaces on public right-of-way.

February 28, 2024 - Hoodline

The city updated its pandemic-era on-street dining program with new regulations that limit the locations and design of parklets.

October 20, 2023 - edhat

The city recently created a parklet permit process designed to help local businesses replace street parking with interactive public spaces.

September 21, 2023 - Nashville Tennessean

Food trucks, outdoor dining spaces, and parklets are moving the needle toward more people-friendly cities and less car-oriented streets.

July 11, 2023 - CNU Public Square

The plan reorients the city’s priorities from vehicle throughput and parking to transit, bike infrastructure, and other public amenities.

May 29, 2023 - The Urbanist

With pandemic-era parklet regulations set to expire on June 30, the city is launching a new, permanent set of guidelines for outdoor dining and other uses of curbside space.

May 3, 2023 - Baltimore Sun

Despite the popularity of Ballard Avenue’s outdoor dining pergolas, some district board members argue the patios don’t match the district’s historic character.

February 7, 2023 - The Urbanist

In 2023, will the city’s public spaces be reclaimed by cars, or will pandemic-era interventions lead to permanent change?

January 5, 2023 - San Francisco Chronicle

While some open streets experiments have met with backlash from community members, others were so successful they led to permanent changes.

November 22, 2022 - Next City

Cities in Santa Cruz County, California are making outdoor dining laws permanent, and some businesses are getting sticker shock at the extra cost of maintaining the pandemic-era expansion of al fresco dining.

November 21, 2022 - Lookout Santa Cruz

The effort to reclaim public and private spaces from car storage had some setbacks since the days of al fresco and open streets in the first years of Covid-19. But widespread parking reforms and new evidence shows the public is rethinking parking.

October 17, 2022 - Globe and Mail

A public space advocate outlines how Philadelphia’s city leaders could support the parklets, plazas, and other public space conversions that proliferated during the pandemic.

September 26, 2022 - WHYY

Tactical urbanism, one of the most common buzzwords in planning over the past decade, describes a variety of low-cost, incremental public realm design interventions.

June 16, 2022 - James Brasuell

Community organizations are taking action to transform the city and pave the way for permanent infrastructure improvements.

April 6, 2022 - Missoula Current

PBOT will continue two highly successful COVID-era programs that allowed businesses and community groups to repurpose public spaces for pedestrian-oriented uses and engage with customers in safe, accessible outdoor settings.

March 16, 2022 - City of Portland

The city will consider adjustments to its outdoor dining policy after the fire department expressed concerns about access for emergency vehicles.

January 31, 2022 - KEYT

The social and economic upheaval of the last two years accelerated a shift in thinking about how we use public space and organize the urban realm.

January 4, 2022 - Wired

While New York City's effort to make its outdoor dining program permanent is a welcome reimagining of public space, some worry that regulations will reduce design diversity and increase costs for small restauranteurs.

December 29, 2021 - Curbed

In spite of concerns from business owners about losing parking, research shows that retail benefits from better bike and pedestrian infrastructure.

December 14, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

The city's new regulations pave the way for making the pandemic experiment a permanent fixture.

November 1, 2021 - The San Diego Union-Tribune