SOMERVILLE, NJ - A brief ceremony early Thursday evening in front of Kyma Greek Cuisine on Main Street made it official - al Fresco dining in the downtown restaurant district has expanded beyond the curb on to MaIn Street.
Natalie Pineiro, executive director of the Downtown Somerville Alliance gathered members of the DSA board, Mayor Dennis Sullivan and members of the Borough Council for the ribbon cutting and a few remarks.
The DSA, the non-profit agency that oversees management of the downtown retail and restaurant district, has been working with the state Department of Transportation seeking permission to heighten the dining experience in Somerville amidst restrictions - no indoor dining - imposed by Gov. Phil Murphy to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NJDOT has jurisdiction over Main Street, which is designated a state highway - a portion of Route 28.
After going back and forth with three different proposals, the DOT signed off on the "parklet" plan - raised platforms built even with the curb and extending into parking spaces - in front of six Main Street restaurants and DeMartino's Restaurant on Davenport Street.
A crew from PK Construction was busy all last week framing and staging the "parklets" in a corner of Municipal Parking Lot #1 before trucking the frames and planks to each of the restaurants.
Each "parklet", built with pressurized lumber, measures 20-by-6 feet with a three-sided railing.
The "parklets" are to be installed at three East Main Street locations - Da Fillipo Sutentica Cucina Italiana, 132 E. Main St.; Kyma Greek Cuisine, 24 E. Main St and Arusuvai Indian Restaurant, 30 E. Main St.
West Main Street locations include Savor Restaurant, 18 W. Main St.; Cafe Picasso, 81 W. Main St., and The Venetian/Central Pizzeria, 122-126 W. Main St.
"Parklets" have proven successful in other New Jersey towns, including Princeton, Summit, Montclair, and Jersey City, according to Kevin Sluka, borough administrator. Restaurants throughout New Jersey have expanded their footprint outdoors in response to executive orders from Gov. Phil Murphy that prohibit indoor dining and require social distancing to combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The first proposal was to shut down Route 28 from Grove Street to Doughty Avenue on the weekends, detouring Main Street traffic to either High Street or Veterans' Memorial Drive to create a pedestrian mall for shoppers and expanded seating for patrons of the restaurants in the downtown district; the second proposal reduced the requested shutdown to Saturdays only, 10 a.m.-10 p,m,
Despite a long-standing precedent that has allowed Somerville to shut down Main Street for firemen parades, the St. Patrick's Day parade, seasonal street fairs, the Memorial Day weekend Tour of Somerville bicycle races and the Central New Jersey Jazz Festival in September - the NJDOT pushed back on the pedestrian mall concept because it did not want to invite similar proposals from towns unable to provide adequate and safe alternatives, according to state Sen. Kip Bateman, who invited Guitierrez-Scacetti to visit Somerville for a first-hand look.
Bateman, whose Warren Street office is a two-minute walk to many of the downtown restaurants, has met with the commissioner several times the past month, and expressed confidence the "parklet" alternative is a good one
"I think that this is a great first step, I'm glad they made the decision to go with a pilot program" Bateman said. "The commissioner has been very receptive and understands our concerns but also has to be careful not to create a precedent. Closing roadways is not conducive to every city; let's see what happens. We can revisit the issue with the commissioner and see if we can go further," he added.
"We'll continue to work with the commissioner and the Borough Council of Somerville to do everything we can to help the restaurants," Bateman said. "Any relief we can provide is a good thing."
Bateman said the commissioner had some concerns with ease of movement for pedestrians using the sidewalks outside the restaurants.
"The way some of them are set up right now, it's a little tight," Bateman said.
Pineiro said those restaurants that have expanded their dining area on to the street have been cognizant and considerate of pedestrian traffic, but that there could be issues with cyclists, wheelchairs, scooters, carriages and strollers.
First and foremost, Pineiro said, the borough must adhere to standards required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"We want to reserve our sidewalk space as much as we can and stay ADA compliant and make sure that people aren't walking in the street; there's traffic,,buses, trucks - not a pleasant experience to be walking pretty much side- by-side with these things," Pineiro said. . .
Walls, barriers and barricades are an integral part of the "parklets" to separate the area from street traffic, according to Pineiro, with large potted plants included in the designs.
The Downtown Somerville Alliance is a TAPinto marketing partner
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August 28, 2020 at 09:36PM
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Somerville Officials Dedicate Main Street Restaurant "Parklets" - TAPinto.net
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