On Friday, Sept. 16, Jacksonville will join about 200 cities around the world to celebrate PARK(ing) Day, when metered parking spaces will be converted into temporary public amenities.
By the next morning, the more than 1,000 spaces will return to service as parking places, but one of them — along a street Downtown yet to be determined — will remain a “parklet.”
It will be a Downtown Vision Inc. demonstration project.
The model is intended to educate the public about the parklet concept and recruit businesses to participate in the initiative.
“Once a parklet is in the ground, it will be easier for people to understand,” said Jake Gordon, CEO of the Downtown advocacy organization.
He said it’s not a case of “reinventing the wheel,” since many cities established parklet programs years ago and have developed best practices and navigated around common regulatory obstacles involved in installing a small park between a sidewalk and a busy street.
What’s worked in other cities will be adapted to Jacksonville’s unique environment, Gordon said.
Working with Jack Shad, principal of Windmill Consulting and former city director of public parking, a “how-to manual” is being developed that will explain the concept and provide a step-by-step guide to creating a parklet, including engineering, design and city permits and regulations.
The manual will include construction guidelines, including how to build a custom deck on the site, and safety elements, such as railings to keep people from accidentally stepping into the street, he said.
The manual and the pilot program are funded by a $15,000 Urban Innovation Grant from the Urban Land Institute, matched by $15,000 from DVI.
Carolyn Clark, senior director of ULI North Florida, said the program will allow Jacksonville to join a movement that has enhanced other urban streetscapes around the world for years.
“It’s proven that parklets energize public spaces, increase interaction and connect people,” she said.
After the grant was announced, she said her colleagues in other cities contacted her to offer assistance and experience and to welcome Jacksonville to the parklet club.
“They just wanted to know what took us so long,” Clark said.
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