The Los Angeles City Council is expected to approve four pilot parklets by this Friday, reports Lewis Center Complete Streets Initiative Director Madeline Brozen. The location of the four sites currently awaiting approval by the Council include two spots on Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles, the York Boulevard Street Porch in Northeast L.A., and the El Sereno Street Plaza. Brozen noted that “these first demonstration parklets allow for Los Angeles to join the growing list of cities who are using parklets to re-think the use of streets and enhance the public right-of-way.”
A parklet is a small, urban park created by replacing under- or mis-used parking spaces on public rights-of-way with items or equipment you would commonly find in a park, such as benches, fountains, flora, artwork, or other accessories. The goal of a parklet is to enhance and encourage non-motorized use of public-rights-of way in order that city denizens can make the most of their habitat, especially at sites that are removed from larger urban parks or have a dearth of open space. Parklet design is intended to be flexible, unique, welcoming, and user friendly; they can be permanent installations or temporary projects that can be taken down in the winter, in cold-climate cities.
For more coverage of the Council’s upcoming parklet vote, visit LA.Streetsblog.org.