Rochester's First Parklet

This article was scraped from Rochester Subway. This is a blog about Rochester history and urbanism has not been published since 2017. The current owners are now publishing link spam which made me want to preserve this history.. The original article was published November 03, 2014 and can be found here.

     By       Mike Governale
     Story updated October 12, 2015.

Next spring construction will begin on Rochester's first parklet--a mini public space--in front of     Joe Bean Coffee Roasters

. Parklets are a relatively new urban feature you may have seen popping up in metros across the country. These makeshift public spaces typically extend out from the sidewalk into adjacent parking spaces offering people a place to stop, to sit, and to rest while taking in the activities of the street...

[UPDATE:     Help fund this project on Kickstarter

]

   This particular parklet--designed by the brilliant team at Staach--will make use of     a former fire lane

.     Staach

is a local company that designs and crafts sustainable, affordable, and beautiful home & commercial furnishings. But they don't just make furniture. They take spaces, and they transform them into enjoyable and inspiring environments; as evidenced here.

   Seth Eshelman, principal designer & founder at Staach, hopes this first parklet will serve as a model for similar projects across town in the near future. His team is actively engaged with City officials and working to encourage other property owners and residents to roll out more parklets in areas that have the space and could benefit from the increased pedestrian activity.

   In other cities,     parklets

have come in many different forms. They sometimes provide seating, bicycle parking, greenery, art, or other visual elements. Though they look like permanent structures, parklets must be designed for quick and easy removal for emergencies or other reasons such as snow removal.

I personally cannot wait to climb up inside this thing with my Mochi-atta-latte-chino and people-watch all day.      - Ok, I don't drink coffee -     I'll just take a warm chocolate milk, please.

Credit to the team that worked on this...

Kathy Turiano
    Joe Bean, Owner (Project Advocate)

Seth Eshelman
    Staach, Principal Designer & Founder (Design, Graphics)

Brandon Colaprete, Assoc. AIA
    Staach, Architectural Designer (Design, 3D Modeling, Rendering)

Anton Siekmann
   Staach, Junior Designer (Design, 3D Modeling)

Nancy Johns-Price
    City of Rochester, Southeast Quadrant Administrator (Community Engagement)

Erik Frisch
    City of Rochester, DES (Transportation)

Madelaine Britt
    City of Rochester, Intern (Research)

Mary Turner
    City of Rochester, Intern (Research)

Nicole Howley
    City of Rochester, Intern (Research)

You Can Help...

A     Kickstarter campaign

has just launched to help fund the construction of this parklet. Give what you can by November 11, and let's get Rochester's first parklet up off the drawing board!