NEWS24/680 readers prepared themselves for a long Independence Day Weekend Friday as a soft wind blew across artfully crafted lattes and workers preparing the first of a series of “parklets” planned to draw pedestrians to downtown Lafayette in the coming months.
Readers were able to get a firsthand look at the construction process and get their morning coffee from the window seats at Panache Caffé in Lafayette, passersby stopping to look at the framework footprint capturing a couple of former parking spaces in front of the coffee shop.
Pleasant Hill resident Andrew Tilson watched the construction while cradling a newly purchased burrito from the burrito shop next door and said that while he supported the idea behind the parklet, he wasn’t sure if he would be sitting down in one.
“There isn’t a lot of protection from a passing car,” he said. “Maybe they will put that in later.”
City workers said they hoped to have the mini-park, or parking lot park, built by end of day Friday.
It will be interesting to see if they catch on.
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I’m in the Missouri camp on this one.
Hopefully the finished and furnished products will address the safety and comfort concerns that we’ve heard. If not, your suggestions and feedback are welcomed. (A passerby suggested that box trees instead of small planters be installed in the fence gaps that we left for landscaping.)
I’ll check comments here or you can email me at afoster@lovelafayette or call me at 925-299-3207.
I’d be interested in hearing from anyone with a firsthand account of what it was like to dine or hang out in one.
we went by yesterday. they hadn’t finished them but they look interesting.
Out with friends in the city and we found ourselves sitting in one of these things at night one night. It helped that alcohol was involved because it was kind of interesting to be sitting there just feet away from passing Muni buses and drivers who were probably as high as we were. It was kind of fun with a dedicated waiter and the manager of the host business making sure we were looked after but I think they tore it down shortly afterward. I don’t know that I’d sit in one sober — but I’m for pedestrian only spaces in urban areas.
Went by for a look after reading about these and would question the position of the pioneer parklets which are in areas where traffic tends to speed. The one outside Panache is right at a light so you get a lot of idling trucks and other heavy traffic noise. There were people sitting at tables on the sidewalk and they had to raise their voices to hear one another so I imagine it would be even worse another 6 to 10? feet further out into the traffic. So I don’t think so but put me down in favor of pedestrian only streets with tables out for people to sit and talk. That would be a lot of fun and a lot like what Europe does. Having cars and traffic int he equation takes the fun out of it IMO.
I’d also like to hear from people who have used them.
I don’t think so thank you. Perhaps if a block were closed to traffic a week at a time?? They do that for the festival after all. It would be fun to sit and have a cup of coffee or something in the middle of the street.
I do understand the push to reclaim the streets for pedestrians and thus making it more conducive to shopping and socializing I’m just not sure this is the best way to do it.