Jul

20

They’re popping up all over – how to leverage sidewalk cafés to perk up streetscapes and prop up sustainability

Filed Under Streetfood 

Sidewalk café seating is a boon to local small businesses and lends great appeal to our streetscape so we’re thrilled to see the surge in new outdoor offerings around Seattle.

The city’s move to streamline permitting and reduce fees has been an unqualified success. Let’s take it to the next level.

Currently, the rule is that any outdoor seating where alcohol is served (the only kind that’s worth the trouble for the average restaurateur) must be directly adjacent to the establishment in question.  Trouble is, this is usually also the part of the sidewalk most in demand as a place to, you know, walk.

The typical sidewalk cafe configuration, which turns the amenity zone into an obligatory slalom course.

Great City landscape architecture and transportation geeks, along with our allies at Cascade Bicycle Club and Feet First, have suggested the proper place for sidewalk café seating is in fact in a place they call the “amenity zone,” that section of sidewalk reserved for street trees and the display boxes of  Seattle’s only newspaper.

Look how happy our little pedestrian avatar is now! With the outdoor seating shifted out of the walkable zone, the world is his oyster!

To change this, we need to take it to Olympia, where liquor laws are made and enforced.  But it is worth the trouble.  On a nice day in Seattle, it seems like there is no end to the demand for seats in the sun.  And, by putting these seats closer to the curb, these enterprising small business owners would be just another step away from something even more revolutionary; taking over their share of the curb lane for something more profitable than the parking of one or two customers’ cars; the parking of a bunch of tables full of paying customers.  A handful of retail centers and watering holes around town have already shown their sustainable true colors by consenting to have their on-street parking swapped out for bike racks–let’s put an even more enticing carrot out there–real estate–to encourage the business community to help us convert our streets into places for people.

Taking over the curb lane for something more profitable than the parking of one or two customers' cars: the parking of a bunch of tables full of paying customers.

Sidewalks are a precious commodity in Seattle–let’s use them wisely.

Comments

4 Responses to “They’re popping up all over – how to leverage sidewalk cafés to perk up streetscapes and prop up sustainability”

  1. Adam Parast on July 20th, 2010 8:01 pm

    Great graphics! It feels like there is real momentum on this issue, the biggest roadblock is the liquor control board now that the city has finally realized the errors of its ways.

    I would also add that changing this law will allow of other underutilized spaces not adjacent to a restaurant say like in pioneer square, but still very close to be activated.

    From my travels in Europe I have found that customers out for a drink are about the most “hardy” types of customers you can have. They’ll put up with the cold, rain (as long as there is cover), beggers, small tables, noise, and just about anything else. They sit around for a long time, are social and talk, and expand the time frame at which people are out (rather than just 5-8, you have people from 3 – whenever).

  2. More and better sidewalk cafes « Walking in Seattle on July 27th, 2010 11:59 am

    [...] businesses have begun pursuing outdoor dining. And, to help make sidewalk cafes even more popular, Great City has a great idea: Currently, the rule is that any outdoor seating where alcohol is served (the only kind that’s [...]

  3. Amenity Zone - Seattle Transit Blog on August 16th, 2010 7:04 am

    [...] is too much demand for outdoor seating. This type of seating would however requires a change in state law if the establishment serves alcohol. I personally think this is key for activating public spaces. [...]

  4. Al fresco Urbandwidth : Great City on September 22nd, 2010 8:32 pm

    [...] the sort of smart use of the right of way in New York City we’ve advocated for Seattle here (and on which Seattle Transit Blog and Walking in Seattle have weighed in too).  The Seattle Times [...]

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