Parklets popular in Uptown likely to spread across the city

By Catherine Spearnak

Jasmine Tinio and her friend Kristina didn’t realize the little dining spot they had perched on outside of Mama’s Bakery & Deli on Alabama Street just south of El Cajon Boulevard was a parklet.

“It’s great,” Tinio said when she was informed about the unique space. “I like how it’s spacious, it’s away from the restaurant, but at the same time it could be a social gathering spot. It feels homey and comfortable.”

Parklets — or pedestrian plazas — are small spots in parking spaces and unused bus stops that are accessible to all and serve as a gathering spot. They are usually the length of two parking spaces, and extend about six feet into the street, creating a pad for seating, flowers and shade.

San Diego City Council’s Smart Growth and Land Use Committee recently approved new rules that will make it easier for businesses throughout San Diego to create the small spaces.

Currently there are two parklets in Uptown: one in front of Mama’s Bakery & Deli and another in front of Caffe Calabria on 30th Street just north of University Avenue in North Park.

San Diego’s first parklet opened outside of Caffe Calabria on 30th Street just north of University Avenue in North Park, offering shaded seating and a place to gather. (Photo by Ron Sanchez)

“I think it provides another amenity that businesses in the neighborhood could elect to have that would bring additional vitality that they don’t currently have,” said City Councilmember Todd Gloria, vice chair of the committee.

Gloria said he knows of at least three proposed parklets that will benefit from the new policies. They would be in front of The Moniker Group in downtown’s East Village, Café Madeline in South Park and Super Cocina in City Heights.

Chris Larson, a senior city planner, said city officials share Gloria’s enthusiasm for parklets, which are popular in San Francisco.

City officials have mandated that parklets must be open to the public and not exclusive for customers. (Photo by Ron Sanchez)

“We’re looking forward to these being rolled out throughout the city,” Larson told the committee. “It’s a great improvement. It kind of gives the pedestrian a place in the street.”

Sauravh Gupta was hanging with his fiancé Roma, and their dog Morty on a recent Sunday morning enjoying espresso in front of Caffe Calabria.

“This is nice,” Gupta said. “I know San Francisco has a lot of these. I wish North Park and other surrounding areas would build more.”

The owner of Caffe Calabria spent about $35,000 creating the city’s first parklet in fall 2013.

Some ask, what about the precious parking in Uptown that’s going to create new parklets?

“Well, it’s always a delicate balance,” Gloria said. “We obviously lack parking throughout Council District 3. But the real solutions for that are not going to come from one or two parking spaces on streets here or there.”

—Catherine Spearnak is a San Diego-based freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected].