The outdoor, pandemic-friendly dining pop-ups in Over-the-Rhine and downtown are to become a permanent fixture of the streetscape, says the city and 3CDC.
The temporary solution to allow restaurants and bars more COVID-friendly seating on select sidewalks and in select streets launched in May to help businesses stay open while following indoor dining capacity restrictions from the department of health.
“While the outdoor dining pilot program has proven successful, there are several advantages to implementing these 'Streateries' permanently,” Mayor John Cranley says. “Making these outdoor dining areas permanent will not only provide bars and restaurants with valuable expanded seating, but they will also generate added vibrancy in the urban core, provide important traffic-calming features to our streets, and will be much more aesthetically pleasing than the construction barriers currently in use.”
The new "streateries" will become permanent via "a combination of parklets and concrete bump-outs/sidewalk expansions" to the tune of around $2 million, says the city. The parklets will likely be "created with high-quality wood decking, like Ipe or a similar material, that will seamlessly integrate railings and planters, which will serve as natural barriers."
Currently, they are considering shutting down:
- 15th Street from Vine Street to Parvis Alley;
- 15th Street from Race to Goose Alley;
- 14th Street from Race Street to Republic Street;
- and Broadway from 12th Street to 13th Street in Pendleton to construct the permanent outdoor dining spots.
When people come back down here they won't even recognize it with much improved streetscape and walkability, and not just improved in the abstract, but adjacent to and supporting these wonderful restaurants. https://t.co/BprY7r8pew
— John Cranley (@JohnCranley) December 5, 2020
The funding will come from the city, as well as the Devou Good Foundation, the Duke Energy Foundation, and the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, along with others.
The 26 restaurants and bars that have current COVID outdoor dining permits will be the first to receive the streateries, and 21 others will be "immediately eligible for a new parklet," says the city.
Five sites have already been listed as those to have their sidewalks expanded for permanent outdoor dining: City Bird, The Eagle, Quan Hapa, The Mercer and Jeff Ruby’s.
Those that do not have temporary outdoor dining at this time will also be allowed to apply for the new program.
3CDC will be accepting and reviewing applications, which will then be sent to the city. The goal is to have all applications and approvals done by December so 3CDC can begin construction on the permanent streateries in January, and be finished by spring 2021.
