Business owners Kelly Ann Richardson and Carter Nevill believe parklets encourage people to stay in Old Town.
Proponents say bustling public gatherings could start popping up in parking lots along Warrenton Main Street by June.
The city council will consider approving the installation of several “parklets” or temporary public spaces on Main Street as part of a five-month pilot program.
Each parklet would replace a parking lot with a seating area of around 160 square meters for alfresco dining, socializing, and people-watching.
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“The parklets will have lots of greenery to beautify Main Street, but also seating for a morning cup of coffee, a meeting on Main Street,” said proponent Sean Polster (by and large) a proponent.
Under the proposal, the city, partnership for Warrenton, and local businesses would work together to bring these pavement extensions to life.
A local company would volunteer to apply for a parklet and agree to pay for planning, construction, insurance and approval.
The city reviewed designs, issued permits, inspected the parklet locations and installed safety barriers.
Parklets would only be available in the warmer months from April to October.
Norfolk, Washington DC, Seattle, and other cities have successful parklet programs.
Mr Polster, who owns the Main Street building that houses Deja Brew, said Carter Nevill, owner of the Carter & Spence gift shop, suggested the idea for Warrenton about a year ago.
“Since the sidewalks exist, they’re pedestrianized and that’s it,” said Nevill. “You are not encouraging people to linger and spend longer on Main Street. Expanding this social space and allowing people to chat, chat, and socialize is critical to the future of Main Street. ”
As a 12-year-old business owner, Mr. Nevill said he looked at Charlottesville’s downtown mall as a reference.
Ideally, he believes parklets would benefit restaurants with more outdoor seating.
“As we look forward to what Main Street is and how we can survive, we need to create more goals,” said Nevill. “We want people to spend two to three hours on Main Street.”
“It’s something we can do quickly and easily at low cost,” said Nevill. “In the long run, there may be better ideas to build on, but we can do that now.”
Kelly Ann Richardson, owner of Kelly Anns Quilting on South Fifth Street, believes parklets will add vitality to the old town.
“When there is activity on a sidewalk, it seems to bring more life to the city, and I think we need that,” Ms. Richardson said.
“I see (people) gathering on sidewalks. (Parklets) would give them a place to stay, ”she added. “I think people miss so much of what we have in town. . . People slow down and see what’s going on in our city. ”
However, some building and business owners have concerns about removing parking on Main Street.
“I’m all about getting more people to Warrenton, but not at the expense of removing parking lots,” said Duane Thompson, a 36-year-old builder.
Mr. Thompson started a petition against the project last week and collected around 40 signatures from old town buildings and business owners and their employees.
“I think parklets are a wonderful thing. They are pretty but we don’t have to lose any parking spaces, ”he said.
Two stores on Main Street are in his building, which has two apartments upstairs.
Mr Thompson says he has been fighting for more parking space since buying his building in 1980.
There were several pharmacies and hardware and furniture stores on Main Street at the time, and the owners “either withdrew or moved because we couldn’t provide enough space,” he said.
As a retired pharmacist, Mr. Thompson believes that filling empty Main Street storefronts with retail tenants should remain a top priority in order to get more pedestrians into Warrenton.
“As parking lots get smaller, companies are cutting their hours and letting their employees go,” Thompson said.
Main Street has 76 parking spaces between Sixth Street and Alexandria Pike, with no side streets.
However, Mr. Nevill believes that parking in the old town is not a problem.
“We could take four seats away or add ten and since people will never find that seat 20 feet from the store they go to, the complaint will persist,” said Nevill.
“Yes, there are times when it’s not convenient, but the distance you walk from a parking lot from the public parking lot to your place of business is likely, on average, less than the distance from your Wegman’s parking lot to the dairy area.” he added.
“Twenty years ago, when Main Street had so many everyday businesses – pharmacies, hardware stores. . . The need for high-volume on-street parking and the lack of parking had a much bigger argument, ”Nevill said.
Beginning with its working session on Thursday March 3rd, the city council will discuss the program and decide whether to establish guidelines and an approval process for the pilot.
Warrenton has opened a comment period for contributions from citizens and business owners through April.
Citizens can comment on parklets by email at (JavaScript must be activated in order to display this e-mail address.)by calling Park Director Margaret Rice at 540-349-2520 or speaking at an upcoming council meeting.
The Park and Recreation Committee, chaired by Mr. Polster, will review the comments and make a recommendation to the full advisory board.
> Information on parklets:
4. Parklet – pt. 1 by Fauquier Now
Parklet v5 from Fauquier Now