B. Approval of an Ordinance concerning temporary outdoor dining on private property for the purpose of extending a certain sunset provision to continue to allow food and beverage service establishments to provide expanded outdoor dining in parking lots and other outside areas during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
I am a strong advocate for the extended exterior dining for this city. I think it should become a permanent fixture and that we should replace the temporary plastic Jersey barriers with more permanent and removable wrought iron fencing, adding an aesthetic to this wonderful economic enhancement to this city!
We should do whatever we can to entice visitors, both local and distant to spend time in our town, dine, and peruse on foot, the shops of downtown Frederick. The extended dining areas help to encourage experiencing downtown. When it becomes permanent, more and more visitors will be attracted to this novel area which will benefit us all!
I live downtown and walk around A LOT with my pup. I have a strong, general impression that the parklets and periodic closing of Market St have provided a much needed boost to our business' efforts to weather the Covid crisis. I also think that allowing the relaxed outdoor mingling of diners and pedestrians has helped restore a sense of community for our town. But we must acknowledge the comments of others here who believe the benefits have been concentrated to a few bars and restaurants while harming their own retail establishments. If that's the case, then we have a duty to mitigate those costs to them. But on the whole, if we determine that parklets and street closures raise the overall downtown foot traffic, we should embrace them and communicate them more clearly to the market.
Have we studied the actual impact on downtown businesses? Could we not task a city agency or DFP to actually collect "before and after" data to quantify the costs and benefits to local businesses? Could parklet "owners" pay more in rent, if they're really valuable to them? Could we issue tax credits to negatively impacted businesses if we determine that overall, the program is a net benefit to the City?
For me the most compelling observations are those who question whether the parklets are being used enough. I think if we continue with this initiative, we should make it semi-permanent to encourage the parklet owners to invest more in their spaces to make them more year-round and all-weather. I visited Manhattan for a few days over summer, and it was amazing what the restaurants did with their parklets, both aesthetically and practically, and how they created a great cultural vibe. And a constant flow of people. We could do that!
I recommend the Board vote to continue the program, for now, subject to more study of the impacts to businesses and more consideration given to both improving the outdoor experience and mitigating any negative impacts on local businesses.
Thank you for allowing me to comment. Emporium Antiques has been a fixture in downtown Frederick for 35 years. The amount of complaints from our customers about the loss of parking spaces to "parklets" is unprecedented. Please do not extend this program. Besides the fact that parklets are highly unattractive, and people eating on a city street looks ridiculous. Merchants could not voice their displeasure to city leaders who used the "state of emergency" to pass this temporary measure without public comment or correct procedure. If you want downtown Frederick to look like a European City with lovely downtown sidewalk dining, then do it the right way. But for now, downtown needs its parking spaces back.
I am a strong advocate for the extended exterior dining for this city. I think it should become a permanent fixture and that we should replace the temporary plastic Jersey barriers with more permanent and removable wrought iron fencing, adding an aesthetic to this wonderful economic enhancement to this city!
We should do whatever we can to entice visitors, both local and distant to spend time in our town, dine, and peruse on foot, the shops of downtown Frederick. The extended dining areas help to encourage experiencing downtown. When it becomes permanent, more and more visitors will be attracted to this novel area which will benefit us all!
I live downtown and walk around A LOT with my pup. I have a strong, general impression that the parklets and periodic closing of Market St have provided a much needed boost to our business' efforts to weather the Covid crisis. I also think that allowing the relaxed outdoor mingling of diners and pedestrians has helped restore a sense of community for our town. But we must acknowledge the comments of others here who believe the benefits have been concentrated to a few bars and restaurants while harming their own retail establishments. If that's the case, then we have a duty to mitigate those costs to them. But on the whole, if we determine that parklets and street closures raise the overall downtown foot traffic, we should embrace them and communicate them more clearly to the market.
Have we studied the actual impact on downtown businesses? Could we not task a city agency or DFP to actually collect "before and after" data to quantify the costs and benefits to local businesses? Could parklet "owners" pay more in rent, if they're really valuable to them? Could we issue tax credits to negatively impacted businesses if we determine that overall, the program is a net benefit to the City?
For me the most compelling observations are those who question whether the parklets are being used enough. I think if we continue with this initiative, we should make it semi-permanent to encourage the parklet owners to invest more in their spaces to make them more year-round and all-weather. I visited Manhattan for a few days over summer, and it was amazing what the restaurants did with their parklets, both aesthetically and practically, and how they created a great cultural vibe. And a constant flow of people. We could do that!
I recommend the Board vote to continue the program, for now, subject to more study of the impacts to businesses and more consideration given to both improving the outdoor experience and mitigating any negative impacts on local businesses.
Thank you for allowing me to comment. Emporium Antiques has been a fixture in downtown Frederick for 35 years. The amount of complaints from our customers about the loss of parking spaces to "parklets" is unprecedented. Please do not extend this program. Besides the fact that parklets are highly unattractive, and people eating on a city street looks ridiculous. Merchants could not voice their displeasure to city leaders who used the "state of emergency" to pass this temporary measure without public comment or correct procedure. If you want downtown Frederick to look like a European City with lovely downtown sidewalk dining, then do it the right way. But for now, downtown needs its parking spaces back.