PORT TOWNSEND — The future of street life in Port Townsend will be up for discussion during a city-hosted open house at the Cotton Building this Tuesday.
“Streateries” and “parklets,” two features added during the pandemic, are places for outdoor dining, drinking, lounging and people-watching — but they take up parking spaces. And some consider the fenced or tented streateries to be less than pretty.
At Tuesday’s open house, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 607 Water St., members of the public can engage in conversations about those issues, and about whether to make streateries permanent.
As it stands, the city’s provision for streateries will expire May 9, right after Mother’s Day weekend.
The forum is part of an accelerated process set in motion at the March 14 meeting of the Port Townsend City Council, when Public Works Director Steve King delivered a detailed talk on the outdoor dining spaces.
“The last two years have been a very good demonstration program,” King said at that meeting.
The council then decided to look at changing city code to permit streateries in the city’s two historic districts, Uptown and downtown.
This streatery concept has been realized in many other places, King and the council acknowledged. The questions in Port Townsend include: What should the requirements be, in terms of aesthetics?
How will the city deal with the ongoing struggle for parking spaces downtown?
Should restaurateurs be charged fees for their outdoor dining spaces?
The main thing about streateries and parklets is they activate the town, added King, who worked in community and economic development in a previous life.
Parklets are spaces where parking stalls are converted to give people a place to sit and enjoy the urban landscape, he noted. The city may work with adjoining businesses to initiate the building of a parklet, a space that’s open to the public at all times.
Streateries, King said, are sidewalk cafe-like spaces in the former parking spaces beside a restaurant. That establishment controls the space during its business hours, and must then open it to the public after hours.
Earlier this month, both the city and the Port Townsend Main Street Program, caretaker and promoter of the historic districts, conducted online surveys about the future of streateries.
The city’s survey can be found at https://cityofpt.us/engagept/page/city-port-townsend-hosting-open-house-streateries-march-29-4pm.
Following the surveys and the open house, the City Council will review public feedback during its meeting at 6:30 p.m. April 4. People can attend that meeting in person at City Hall, 250 Madison St., or online via cityofPT.us under the Government menu and then Agendas and Minutes.
The council next plans to discuss proposed municipal code changes and hear more public input during its April 18 meeting, also open to in-person and online participation.
On May 2, the City Council could make its decision on the fate of streateries, as the members review the possible changes to city code.
King, for his part, noted that five streateries have continued to operate since the city began allowing them in mid-2020.
They include Alchemy Bistro, the Whiskey Mill and Tommyknockers downtown, and the Uptown Pub and Seal Dog Coffee on Lawrence Street.
Then there’s the Adams Street parklet, built last summer at Adams and Water streets. People are using the new benches to view Port Townsend Bay, eat a takeout meal and watch downtown’s passing parade.
“That’s been incredible to watch its activity,” King said.
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Jefferson County Senior Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz @peninsuladailynews.com.
