City may build, install platform with seating
By Angie Landsverk
The city of Waupaca wants to build and install a seasonal parklet in parking spaces on North Main Street this summer.
“We want to build a prototype so people get an idea of what they look like,” said City Administrator Henry Veleker.
The area that staff members have in mind is near the arch over the ramp that leads to Rotary Riverview Park.
“We have to go back to the council to get permission,” he said.
That is expected to take place when the council meets on June 19.
A parklet is a platform that may turn parking stalls at the curb into an outdoor dining area for a restaurant.
Some communities build them to create public spaces, incorporating benches and plantings.
“They can be very elaborate,” Veleker said.
He said a parklet is built to the height of the curb and is an extension of the sidewalk.
It was a topic of discussion last month during a common council meeting.
That is when Veleker brought forward the idea of allowing restaurants and taverns to expand their premises for the summer by using parking stalls in front of their businesses.
This is the time of year liquor license renewals go before the council.
“Over the past few years, we used the concept loosely when we had downtown events,” he said.
In those cases, businesses were able to extend their premises on the days of those events.
When Veleker brought up the idea last month, he wanted to know where the common council stood on the concept.
“There would be details to work out,” he said.
He offered to gauge the interest of business owners and said there would be a cost to businesses wanting to do this.
The businesses would have to build them, or have someone do so for them.
“Maybe you have seen them in other places. With the weather turning, I thought it might be something we want to try,” Veleker said. “Obviously, when Main Street is being reconstructed (scheduled for 2021), we can’t do it (that summer).”
Council members commented on the concept.
“I think it’s an interesting idea, and we should move forward with talking to people downton and garnering interest,” said Ald. Mary Phair.
Paul Hagen said anything that differentiates Waupaca from other communities is a good idea.
Steve Hackett agreed.
Alan Kjelland and Lori Chesnut expressed concerns about safety.
Police Chief Brian Hoelzel also had questions about it.
“This is the first time I’m seeing it,” he said.
Mayor Brian Smith told Veleker to get police and fire involved in the discussion.
Since then, Veleker talked to Hoelzel about the concept.
“We’re probably one year too early to let businesses do something,” Veleker said.
That is why the city is instead recommending the alternative approach of building and installing one itself.
Veleker said the city could repurpose the building materials from the mini golf course built a few years ago for downtown summer events.
There are things that can be done to put buffers between vehicles and parklets, he said in regard to safety concerns.
Brennan Kane, the city’s director of community and economic development, told the council last month that a parklet cannot project out any further than the parking stall.
Cities of various sizes throughout the United States are incorporating parklets into their urban designs.
Many of them do so just for the summer season.
In those cases – as it would also be in Waupaca if the concept is approved – the parklets are not permanent fixtures.
Kane said there are many different examples of parklets and how communities handle them.
Minneapolis regulates them on certain streets, he said.
Ald. Chuck Whitman said, “All we hear is there is no parking downtown.”
Veleker said the idea may drive more traffic to businesses.
“I think most parklets would be in front of their own business, so they wold be losing their own parking spaces,” Ald. Paul Mayou said.
If the council agrees to allow city staff to build and install one this summer, Veleker said it would be great to have it in place by July 4.
The city would definitely want to have it up when Arts on the Square and Oktoberfest take place in August, he said.
Both events will be on North Main Street this year.
Veleker said parklets are becoming trendy, with many larger communities having them.
During a recent vacation in Iowa City with his wife, he saw one.
That city installed a bike parklet two years ago.
If Waupaca’s council gives the city the go ahead to move forward with the idea, the one built by the city would have a small seating area and maybe some plantings, Veleker said.
“It would be a place for people to get a feel for what these are like,” he said.