The city's new regulations pave the way for making the pandemic experiment a permanent fixture.
As Lori Weisberg reports, the San Diego City Council approved new regulations that will make permanent the city's outdoor dining program, started during the pandemic to support struggling restaurants as COVID-19 forced businesses to adjust to social distancing guidelines. The program "will allow restaurant owners to extend their outdoor seating onto sidewalks, and in metered and unmetered parking spaces in front of their venues as long as they pay a fee, a requirement that up until now has not been imposed."
The new program, called Spaces as Places, will start next July and "include a number of design and safety regulations that will permit restaurants to install platforms for seating along unpainted, yellow or green curbs as long as they are at least 20 feet away from an intersection, street corner, alley or driveway." The new regulations only permit outdoor dining on streets with a maximum speed limit of 30 miles per hour.
Repurposing curb space and parking lots for outdoor dining has become a hallmark of the COVID-19 pandemic as restaurants looked for creative ways to continue serving customers. Cities all over the U.S. scrambled to implement outdoor dining regulations and permitting. Now, as the pandemic and temporary outdoor dining programs wind down, city leaders must decide on the future of 'al fresco streets.'
FULL STORY: Like dining in the street? San Diego decides to make pandemic experiment permanent for restaurants
Opinion: Keep Outdoor Dining Without Thwarting Creativity
While New York City's effort to make its outdoor dining program permanent is a welcome reimagining of public space, some worry that regulations will reduce design diversity and increase costs for small restauranteurs.
Los Angeles Extends Outdoor Dining Program for Up to Three Years
An emergency ordinance signed by the city's mayor will allow restaurants to keep outdoor dining facilities built during the pandemic for at least one more year.
Who Should Manage New York’s Outdoor Dining Program?
A proposal to shift responsibility away from the Department of Transportation has met staunch resistance from industry groups and advocates of the program.
Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25,% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.
San Diego Swaps Parking Lane for Kid-Friendly Mini Park
The block-long greenway will feature interactive play equipment and landscaping.
Tracking the Invisible: Methane Leaks From LA’s Neighborhood Oil Sites
Environmental advocates are using infrared technology to monitor and document methane leaks from neighborhood oil sites, filling regulatory gaps and pushing for stronger protections to safeguard community health and the climate.
Montana Bill Promotes Parking Reform
A bill before the Montana state senate would bar cities from requiring more than one parking spot per new housing unit.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland