Dear Editor
The first public parklet was introduced in San Francisco in 2010 and they now have more than 50.
Being the leaders in this area, they have a fabulous website called Pavement to Parks, www.pavementtoparks.org, where you will find everything you need or want to know about parklets – the benefits, how-to manual, photos, maps and more. One feature is the project map, showing how the movement has gone global – a quick glance and I found there are parklets in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Chile and so many cities across North America that I can’t even begin to count.
For the San Francisco parklet map, you can find out where they are, photos and who hosts them. Many are hosted by businesses, but you can also find ones hosted by “Community Benefit Districts,” which are a mix of business and individual property owners, and also resident associations, such as the Outer Mission Merchants and Residents Association.
Yes that’s right, residents associations co-sponsor parklets in partnership with local businesses.
I’m sure some of the parklets have experienced issues as described by a few New West residents at one point or another. But this “undesirable” behaviour could happen anywhere – a park, a playground, at a school. Let’s not let a few growing pains stop us from becoming a world-class city. Let the parklet stay and let’s build even more!
Deanna Tan Francoeur, New Westminster
