In addition to a plan for paid parking throughout downtown, the installation of permanent bumpout 'parklets' is also being considered by members of the Plymouth City Commission.
During a meeting earlier this month, the commissioners instructed the administration to proceed with a study which would require paid parking throughout city streets and last week, joined members of the Downtown Development Authority, Planning Commission and the Historic District Commission for an informational presentation regarding increasing outdoor seating capacity at restaurants with more bumpouts into city streets.
The parklets are also known as street seats or curbside seating and are usually a partnership between cities and local businesses, according to officials.Representatives from Wade Trim, the city engineering firm, presented the plan which would result in a loss of parking spaces throughout downtown while providing increased patio seating for local restaurants. The new installations would be similar in design to those already in use in the city.
Plymouth City Manager Paul Sincock stressed that the installations are only concepts and one benefit would be to remove the transient look of many of the current patio-like installations downtown. He said the concept could provide an “overall image improvement to the entire downtown.”
In a prepared statement, Sincock said that no design work has been completed on the proposed bumpouts and there is no current cost estimate. He said the expense for that preliminary design work would need approval from the members of the city commission.
