Seating could replace some downtown Phoenix parking spots

PHOENIX — In addition to higher parking meter rates, Phoenix may soon offer fewer places to park downtown.

Phoenix council members are moving forward with the city’s first parklet program. A parklet is a seating platform that replaces two or more parking spaces. The only parklet in downtown Phoenix is located in front of Matt’s Big Breakfast near Garfield and First streets.

According to a council report, parklets provide green spaces, help mitigate the urban heat island effect and create new seasonal pedestrian spaces. The program would allow businesses to rent the parking spaces and offer either open seating for the public or private seating for customers, which can also be used for serving food and non-alcoholic drinks.

Businesses would have to pay for the construction, which the city estimates would cost between $10,000 and $20,000 per parklet, depending on materials.

If council members approve the plan at Wednesday’s meeting, parklets would be allowed from roughly Seventh Avenue to Seventh Street and from Grant Street to McDowell Road.