SARASOTA, Fla. — Leaders with the City of Sarasota are considering making curbside dining, or parklets, permanent.
Across the country, parklet dining programs started during the COVID-19 pandemic to help restaurants stick to the safety protocols. Several restaurants signed up for permits to take advantage of the extra space to allow for social distancing and prevent the spread of the coronavirus at their establishment. The program has been a hit with many who decided to continue and for customers who enjoy sitting outdoors to enjoy their dining experience.
Some restaurants have anything from one to three parking spots that have been converted to seating areas and they're hoping the city commission keeps it this way. Now, the city attorney is working on a possible new ordinance to look into what format of the program would be best suited for permanency.
"It's one of the wonderful things that came out of COVID and there were very few," Patricia Dore of Classico Italian Chophouse on Main Street in Downtown Sarasota said.
The pandemic forced many businesses like Classico to implement new ideas and innovations. Now more than two years later, the City of Sarasota Parklet Program, which allowed restaurants to turn parking spots into dining areas, has been outstanding for revenue with more and more customers requesting outdoor seating.
"We have people who are like, I can't sit inside, it's too close with other people, and they'll wait outside for a table," Alex Ianakiev of Green Zebra Cafe said.
The Parklet Program has also helped solve capacity issues for some restaurants, especially on busy weekends and holidays.
"We have upstairs seating, but even then it's pretty packed and it can be pretty cramped, but having the outdoor seating has been amazing and honestly we need it," Ianakiev said.
Currently, there are seven businesses still signed up for the program and are paying $25 per parking space daily. At its height, around 20 restaurants were part of the program.
"We intend to continue paying for it. It's worth it and it balances out," Dore said. "We intend to improve upon it and we're going to elevate it a little bit and make it look a little bit nicer."
Many residents who visit the downtown area said they also favor keeping the parklets because it enhances the experience of the city.
"I think that it creates a very social atmosphere in the downtown area," Leslie Power said. "We absolutely love the outdoor dining here."
Power has lived in Sarasota for more than 25 years.
"The visitors think it's awesome," she added. "It's just a great way to have an active lifestyle in the downtown area which is needed."
Many others have argued that it's making downtown street parking scarce and difficult for many especially seniors.
Some have suggested that better drop-off points along the street should be created.
"So that it's easily accessible and that people can be dropped off to get to their location where they want to be without that pressure of feeling they have to walk," Power said.
The city's latest extension of the current Parklet Permit Program last until the end of September.
"I'm hoping that it's permanent. We will take whatever we can get but we really hope to maximize that space we think it's very important," Dore said.
A city spokesperson said a proposal for a potential new program could be ready for the city commission to review around July or August.
If the city commission members decide to move forward with the program, there would be two public readings and opportunities for public comments before any possible adoption of an ordinance.