Walnut Creek Wrestles With New Regulations For COVID Parklets
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… parking is too tight already… the “parklets” were brought about by covid…. time to remove them all
Agreed 100%
People still go to Walnut Creek?
Y’all looking to get in with the next flash looting mob or do you like being targeted by, ahem, “upstanding citizens” who prowl wealthy areas for victims?
+1
As a consumer, I’m OK with the ones on the sidewalk but I really do not like being in the street where if some driver not paying attention drives straight ahead into the parklet, I will have an F150 tire parked on my chest.
That’s funny. As a driver, I really hate when I got to park and there is a random consumer just sitting in the parking spots!
Driving and parking in downtown WC is a nightmare. Get rid of the “parklets”. Covid is over.
Driving in WC has been a nightmare for decades.
Now walking around and eating out there are a nightmare, too.
Covid is over? Why is my whole household positive?
Yes Carmen, the “pandemic” is over. It is now endemic. You may get Covid. I may get Covid. Lot’s of people may get Covid.
You may get a cold. I may get a cold. Lot’s of people may get colds.
You may get the flu. I may get the flu. Lot’s of people may get the flu.
Get it?
Speech to text came with “lot’s” instead of “lots” and I didn’t notice. However, the point still stands.
I have never been there. Are they selling stuff that fell off of a truck or is it legit?
They don’t take up that many parking spots, keep ’em.
They aren’t “wrestling”, they are “Spooling”. There is a significant difference.
They should do what other cities have (even decades ago) and make Main Street one way, delivery and transit only. They may not be intelligent enough to do that and city councils tend to be lazy and self-interested anyway.
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WC’s Collette Hanna, Economic Development Manager, opened the flood gates to on-street dining parklets without consulting all City departments. She over-promised.
The most egregious structure is Main Street Kitchen’s monstrosity which was erected over a weekend without permits or approval. It blocks other stores that depend on visibility and, at times, the parking stalls directly in front of them.
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It’s time for these crappy structures and blighted hack jobs to disappear.
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@Get it right
+1
At this point, the parklets are simply providing restaurants with additional square footage on the public’s dime. The scamdemic is over and it’s time to shut them all down.
If they allow this to continue, what right do they have to deny panhandlers, musicians and God forbid, mimes, from demanding equal access to the sidewalks?
You need to study the law.
Mimes, panhandlers, and the like already have access to public sidewalks under the First Amemdment of the US Constitution. The freedom of expression is a right so long as they do not impede the public way or local commerce (blocking the sidewalk, excessive noise, harassment, etc.).
Doing business in the public right of way constitutes commerce and may be regulated by the local jurisdiction.
That’s the difference.
@Exit 12A Cities can easily regulate this “right” out of existence.
I’m not comfortable at all with dining on the street or on the sidewalk.
It’s putting more people in harm’s way.
Errant drivers and/or pedestrians can create all sorts of havoc.
With the general lack of responsibility of some people, well, just about anything can happen.
I’d like to see the parklets removed and sidewalk dining lessened.
So you’d like to have made the businesses make less money or maybe close so it would look like downtown Concord? How about the people you put out of work, or lost revenue for both the city and the business and lost tpis for employees? I could go on and on about how selfish that would be to go backwards…. How about we do like they do in other countries, close the street during certain hours and all day on the weekends? I mean yes it would cause some traffic but safer and even more space for entertainment and families. Walnut Creek definitely is a place to gather… name one other city that you feel so comfortable, day and night? It’s not a coincidence that Walnut creek has the crowds they have at dinner time.
@Dude1
Clayton is much safer than WC & without the parklets. I have lived here my entire 53 years and nobody gathers in WC for family fun or safety. It is not backwards to do away with something that never should have been…
@bdml
I live in Clayton as well…no comparison… 4 restaurants in Clayton and Ed’s and the Chophouse has had patio dining for a long time, BUT clearly WC is hands down a better food choices if you want variety…I love Clayton but it’s backwards and leaves you with few choices. The quality except for the chophouse and the Veranda is questionable. I Love the downtown, the activities but how often do they do something big? 7 or 8 times if you count the music in the park? Being able to socialize and enjoy the cool summer evening and not be stuck in a box…clearly again WC wins…sorry to disagree but just 2 different places and do not compare well.
Just like the rest of California… fees… will help maintain down town… like registrations fees help maintain roads. They’ll start small but over time you can bet money there will be no cap. I’m not against getting money back from meters but tie the fee increase to the meter increases. Only raise parklet fees when they raise meter fees and no other time Also the structures should be minimum following permit building practices. I’m going to bet though that the fees they collect will be re-purposed.
It looks like a shanty town. Fits in with Soviet style apartment buildings in baby-poop colors.
What’s next, kiosks and queues?
Parking metes at every outside table, problem solved.
“metes”… are those some kind of new of fake beef… I crack myself up
Taxpayers paid for a STREET!
I’ll be really cranky and stipulate that all the restored parking spaces should be marked for handicapped only.
And thank you to Carlyn Obringer and City of Concord for responding so quickly to my request that Spaghetti Factory release “its” 5 parking spaces on Mt. Diablo Street (Todos Santos Square) back to proper usage.
Now if only we can stop residents of the Senior tower apartments from using up the street parking on Grant Street, maybe we can go enjoy the fish and chips at Phair’s again!