Longmont is preparing to create temporary “parklets” in some of the curbside parking spaces outside Main Street storefronts between Second and Sixth avenues, with a goal of having at least some of them in place by mid-May.
On Tuesday night, City Council is expected to approve a resolution accepting a $150,000 Colorado Department of Transportation grant to cover half the anticipated cost of manufacturing and installing 30 of the parklet structures. That state award is to be matched with $150,000 from the Longmont Downtown Development Authority budget to cover the rest of the project’s expenses.
From mid-May through Oct. 31, the date at which the parklets are currently expected to be removed for the following cold-weather months, the project will expand the outdoor area that businesses can operate and the public can use along the Main Street corridor.
“The aim is to provide safe, reusable outdoor seating for the public and customers of Main Street businesses in response to the ongoing pandemic, with less impact on traffic flow,” staff said in a memo for Tuesday’s Council meeting.
In Longmont’s application for the $150,000 state grant, the city said the parklets will allow retail businesses to provide outdoor seating for customers that comply with social distancing guidelines. That will increase business capacity to serve customers previously limited by COVID-19 in-door spacing requirements.
Mike O’Shays Restaurant owner Rueben Verplank wrote Colorado Department of Transportation officials on April 1 that his restaurant “would like to vehemently support the implementation of parklets in the downtown Longmont area. Parklets can boost foot traffic by providing more recreational space. They also can make drivers more mindful of speed limits.”
“Parklets can also encourage alternative transportation, but most importantly, people love them,” Verplank wrote.
City staff said in its materials forwarded to Council for Tuesday’s meeting that each of the parklet structures will be 5 feet by 20 feet in size. They’ll be placed in the curbside parking lanes with supporting barricades separating them from Main Street’s traffic travel lanes. Some of the parklets will be shared, using several adjacent parking spaces within a block. Others will be individually located.
Staff said parklet locations have been determined in response to Longmont Downtown Development Authority business and public needs surveys conducted last fall and follow-up meetings with Main Street businesses. Businesses will provide tables and seating for people using the parklets while they’re dining or just taking a break during their downtown shopping trips.
When people were asked in the Downtown Development Authority surveys how likely they’d be to use the then-being-considered parklets, about 61% of the 1,643 people answering that question said they’d be “likely” to use them, almost 20% said it would be “somewhat likely,” about 6% said it was “somewhat unlikely,” 9% that it was “unlikely,” and 4% “neither likely nor unlikely.”
Last year, Longmont installed concrete barriers along stretches of Main Street that closed some of the north-south traffic travel lanes as well as curbside parking. This year, the parklets project will not include closing down any travel lanes of the street that’s also a highway, such as U.S. 287.
In support of the city’s grant application, Longmont Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Kimberlee McKee wrote Colorado Department of Transportation officials on April 2 that “Our Bigger Hearts, Stronger Streets initiative, launched in 2020 in response to the pandemic, assisted business owners with capacity limitations and gave residents the ability to safely dine, walk and shop outdoors.”
“As we engage the community in future planning, we are learning that not only is increased outdoor space a benefit throughout the pandemic, but will continue to be a desired option for years to come,” McKee said.
Also writing in support of the city’s grant proposal was Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Scott Cook, who wrote on April 1 that “the businesses in our downtown and throughout the city have been severely impacted by the COVID-19. It has been a challenging year and our business community has worked to be responsive, pivot business models, enact new safety protocols and find new, innovative and safe ways to serve our community.”
Last year’s closings of some of Main Street’s travel lines, funneling Main Street traffic in much of the downtown area onto a single northbound lane and a single southbound lane was one of the “collaborations among economic development organizations, city and businesses … to bring more public space for recreational use and outdoor seating,” Cook said.
“This was embraced by the community. It was especially important since the historic nature of our downtown district did not allow for significant space for outdoor expansion,” Cook said. “This year, and hopefully in the years ahead, using parklets is a great compromise for our community. It gives our residents the outdoor space they desire, while keeping the traffic lanes open. With this space, our community can gather together and our businesses can safely reopen, serve the community and continue down the path of recovery.”
O’Shays Restaurant and Ale House owner Verplank wrote state transportation officials in his letter supporting the project: “People around the country, and specifically in Longmont, are realizing that the most prime real estate shouldn’t be used for cars but rather for people! COVID-19 has made it difficult for communities to socialize, and having safer outdoor space has become an important part of both limiting the spread of the virus and meeting the pent-up social needs of our community. Please help us keep Longmont as the best town in Colorado.”
If you watch
What: Longmont City Council regular meeting
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Council and city staff members will participate from remote locations. Residents can watch the meeting by clicking “play” on the video link within the interactive agenda window. The mayor will announce when people can call in to comment during the portion of the meeting when the public is invited to be heard.
Agenda: tinyurl.com/5swj28zw
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Longmont prepares for creation of downtown parklets - Longmont Times-Call
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