'Parklets' to stay parked in downtown Longmont through October

Matthew Bennett, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·2 min read

Jun. 30—Originally intended to provide businesses with additional outdoor seating amid the pandemic, "parklets," as they're called, have returned in downtown Longmont despite the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

Last summer, 30 parklets were installed outside various shops, restaurants and other businesses downtown before being removed in time for the cooler weather.

This year, 12 parklets have gone up and will remain through October, according to Longmont Public Information Officer Rigo Leal.

Leal said the outdoor dining structures would be reevaluated at the end of the year.

"Although there are not any indoor capacity restrictions, there is still a public health benefit to dining outside," Leal said. "This extra space expands outdoor dining options for the community."

Businesses pay $50 for a permit to extend their right of way to accommodate parklets, and another $300 if they serve alcohol.

One parklet takes up one parking space, and some businesses have connected several together.

Rueben Verplank, who owns Mike O'Shays Restaurant & Ale House at 512 Main St., said the loss of a few parking spaces was well worth the three to four extra tables his business could fit outside thanks to its parklets.

Verplank said the outdoor space was particularly beneficial when restaurants had to operate at limited capacities, but that it was still valuable today.

"It was certainly ... a bigger deal then than it is now — for sure," Verplank said about the added outdoor seating. "There's still people that are somewhat hesitant to sit inside."

When asked whether he hoped the parklets would be allowed after 2022, Verplank replied, "Definitely."

"We hope that program continues," he said.

Ward 2 Longmont City Councilor Marcia Martin, whose ward includes sections on the east side of Main Street, south of Ninth Street, called parklets a "good halfway point."

Although they take up a parking space, parklets do not shut down any lanes of traffic, Martin pointed out.

Although Martin heard plenty of complaints about lost-parking spaces last year as a result of the parklets, so far this summer, the Ward 2 councilor said people had been relatively quiet about the expanded outdoor dining structures.

"I like them," Martin said. "I think that having them as something optionable is perfect."