HYDE SQ.—Businesses like the new parklet on Centre Street at Wyman Street, while local residents are still getting used to it, according to Hyde/Jackson Square Main Street (HJSMS) Executive Director Gerald Robbins.
Robbins said HJSMS held an impromptu lunch event with about 20 people on Sept. 12 to introduce the parklet, on Centre Street at Wyman Street, to the neighborhood.
“I think the businesses really like it,” Robbins said of the parklet, which was installed earlier this month. But, he said, it’s been a “bit slow” with residents of the neighborhood using it. He said like any new infrastructure, people have to learn to adapt to the parklet.
A parklet is a small, semi-permanent public space that resembles a deck, created from two parking spaces. JP’s version is made of wood and has long, curved benches.
Robbins said he is working with the City to have stools added to the parklet, so people can sit and use the thick railing as a place to eat small meals at. He also said he would like to see a bigger sign with Spanish added to it. Robbins said that some people don’t see the small sign that is there now and think that the parklet is an extension of Tacos El Charro, which abuts it.
Robbins said that the City is using the next five or six weeks as a “testing period.” The parklet will be removed for winter and replaced in the spring.
The parklet was originally slated to be in place last spring, but had its location changed and the installation schedule repeatedly set back. The City also installed a parklet on Mission Hill earlier this month.
The JP parklet will be maintained by partner businesses. In Hyde Square’s case, that is restaurant Tacos El Charro and Sonia’s Bridal & Quinceañera. Each parklet is costing the city between $15,000 and $25,000 to create and install.
The new parklet in Hyde Square. (Gazette Photo by Peter Shanley)