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Parklets Are Now Permanent, Supervisors Approve ‘Shared Spaces’ Forever

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What we call ‘parklets’ are not really parklets, because San Francisco parklets existed long before COVID-19 way back in 2011. Those fabulous outdoor dining booths borne of the COVID era are technically called “Shared Spaces,” and they are now a permanent fixture of our streets and sidewalks. The Chronicle reports that the Board of Supervisors made the shared spaces parklets permanent in a unanimous Tuesday night vote.

“Shared Spaces brought back life and excitement to our neighborhoods during an incredibly challenging time,” Mayor Breed said in a statement picked up by KTVU after the vote. Breed had been pushing hard to make parklets permanent, and complained in May that the board would “butcher my legislation” if they added any extra rules. And they did add extra rules, but everyone  — especially bar and restaurant owners  — seems pretty happy with the outcome.

The extra rules added are pretty simple. The parklets’owners are now allowed to close them off to the public between Midnight and 7 a.m. “Requiring these to stay open overnight would render them unworkable for many of the small businesses that I represent,” District 6 supervisor Matt Haney said.

District 9 supervisor Hillary Ronen disagreed. “We are giving up an extraordinary amount of public space to accommodate private businesses,” she said. “I believe that we should, but in exchange, I believe the public should have the most access to it as it possibly can.”

But the legislation still passed. Business owners will be required to pay between $1,000 and $3,000 per parking space they take up, but that fee is waived for the next two years for locally-owned businesses. 

And if you think you’re happy that the parklets are permanent, the propane tank salespeople are thrilled.

 

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Joe Kukura- Millionaire in Training

Joe Kukura- Millionaire in Training

Joe Kukura is a two-bit marketing writer who excels at the homoerotic double-entendre. He is training to run a full marathon completely drunk and high, and his work has appeared in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal on days when their editors made particularly curious decisions.