Community Corner
'Parklets' Coming To Worcester For Outdoor Dining
Two micro parks will soon be built near City Hall, allowing nearby restaurants to expand outdoors.
WORCESTER, MA — A new outdoor dining experience will soon come to downtown Worcester through a collaboration between the state, city and the Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District (BID).
Last week, MassDOT awarded Worcester a $54,000 grant to repurpose parking spaces in the block around City Hall to be used for outdoor dining. The grant is part of a year-long effort help downtown restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic.
In June 2020, the BID hired a firm to study how to beautify downtown and help restaurants. One recommendation was installing a series of "parklets" to help give restaurants the infrastructure to serve customers outdoors.
Parklets have been used in cities across the U.S. — from Boston to Seattle — to create small community spaces in urban areas. Parklets typically take over parking spaces, and add amenities like landscaping and bike parking.
As a test, Worcester will set up two parklets in the downtown area in the coming weeks. City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said the program could expand if it's successful. Chashu Ramen + Izakaya, located along Franklin Street across from City Hall, will use one of the parklets.
Along with the parklets, the BID will install planters in the downtown area as a traffic-calming measure for pedestrians.
