MOLINE, Ill. — The City of Moline is looking at a new way to expand outdoor dining options for bars and restaurants downtown.
Outdoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic has become a staple. This, however, is something brand new.
"After being through the year we’ve been through, you know, all restaurants, we need this," said Beth Lagomarcino.
Lagomarcino owns a business in downtown Moline, and welcomes a new "parklet" space to seat her customers.
"We just put the tables out yesterday and people have been gravitating towards it," said Lagomarcino.
The "parklet" is a wooden bench attached to a wood frame and platform. It takes up the space of one parking spot outside Lagomarcino's business, but expands outdoor seating options.
"Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the outdoor dining opportunity demand has gone up exponentially," said Geoff Manis, the main street program manager for Moline Center.
Manis and his team are developing a master plan for how the downtown area looks.
The plan is that "any and all downtown bars and restaurants that want a parklet, that could use a parklet, that would have a parklet compliment their storefront business, will get one," Manis said.
The "parklet" outside Lagomarcino's business is a prototype designed and built by students at Black Hawk College. Another one just like it would cost about $1,500, according to Manis.
"The goal is to look closely at both the Moline Center's budgetary dollars and the City of Moline's budgetary dollars to come up with a very conservative, fiscally conservative approach," Manis said.
The "parklets" are removable, so Manis' team will remove them in the winter months and reinstall them before the next outdoor dining season begins.
The city is not quite ready to commit to this as a wide-scale project. They are still looking into logistics and cost, according to Manis.
Any business owner that wants to create their own "parklet" without any city involvement in the construction would only need to work with the city to ensure they have proper permits and follow any other regulations, Manis said.