Pismo Beach debuts its first parklet downtown

Pismo Beach unveiled its first parklet Monday, making it the second city in San Luis Obispo County to feature one of the small community gathering spaces.

The parklet is located downtown at the intersection of Cypress Street and Hinds Avenue, in a single parking space in front of Esquire News. It is a part of the city’s ongoing downtown restoration efforts and is expected to increase foot traffic downtown and make the streets more bike and pedestrian-friendly.

Morro Bay raised controversy in January when it installed a parklet in two parking spaces in front of Top Dog Coffee Bar at 875 Main St., in an effort to replicate similar programs in larger cities like San Francisco, Chicago and New York.

Some residents there have expressed concerns that the gathering space removes valuable parking from the area, as well as creating safety hazards and only benefiting the coffee shop it sits in front of.

None of those concerns is expected to be a problem at the new Pismo Beach parklet, City Manager Jim Lewis said.

Even though the space is located in Pismo’s busy downtown where parking is often a concern, Lewis said the particular parking spot is rarely used. The block of Cypress Street in front of the magazine store is one-way, so the parking spot is only accessible when driving down Cypress from Pomeroy Avenue.

“This is probably the best parking space we could put this in in the entire city,” Lewis said.

The space features reading, seating and gaming areas, as well as a garden.

The Pismo parklet is temporary. The City Council will examine its success at a meeting in May and determine whether it is a good idea to pursue a parklet program with more similar spaces throughout the city. In the meantime, residents are encouraged to test out the new space and offer feedback to the council about their experiences.

This story was originally published March 31, 2015 at 7:48 PM with the headline "Pismo Beach debuts its first parklet downtown."