Interested in having a parklet in front of your Redwood City business? And for those who live in Redwood City, what say you about the future of parklets downtown?
The City of Redwood City has released surveys asking businesses (survey here) and residents (survey here) to chime in on the future of parklets as the city transitions away from the outdoor parklet program that came about during the COVID-19 pandemic, and into a longer-term solution for 2022.
The surveys aim to get a sense whether issuing permits to businesses for parklets on an annual basis would impact how often community members visit downtown, and their level of concern over a reduction in parking options due to parklets.
Like several cities in San Mateo County, Redwood City launched a temporary outdoor dining program during the pandemic that sought to support businesses suffering economically from restrictions on indoor dining. For that purpose, one block of Broadway is closed to traffic between Jefferson Avenue and Main Street, and parklets also operate on other parts of Broadway and Main Street. In July, the City Council voted to permanently close Theatre Way to vehicular traffic. As of June, 42 restaurants offered outdoor dining, according to the Redwood City Downtown Business Group.
The surveys aim to see whether community members enjoy the program enough to keep it going and possibly expand it.
“Your feedback is important to us so we can understand business needs and priorities during this challenging time,” the city said.
As of this writing, the survey had garnered 309 responses from community members and 24 responses from businesses, according to the city.
Photo by Jim Kirkland
