Campaign group Possible have launched two new guides for developing parklets, one aimed at communities, the other at local authorities.
In their own words a parklet is ‘a small but mighty public space’ created in a space previously reserved for parking a car. Despite being – by definition – a small space there are many ways they can be used.
A parklet may be given over to seating, it could be used as a community garden, there are even examples of exercise bikes being put in the spaces and bands performing in them.
The first parklet appeared in San Francisco in 2005 when a group called Rebar fed a parking meter for the day, rolled out some turf and put a potted plant on top of it. Ten years later Hackney Council created the first one in the UK.
Possible’s toolkit for communities runs through the entire process starting with choosing a location: away from junctions, in an area lit by street lighting and where there is already sufficient car parking spaces, and design: consult with other people in the area.
It moves on to cover financing and building the parklet. Some councils will finance and install the basic structure, others may provide a small grant – in Waltham Forest it’s £250 – and leave the community group to design, install and insure the parklet themselves.
The creators of the parklet may also be responsible for taking out public liability insurance that covers them for third party claims, although again, some councils might take this on themselves.
Road safety audits will also need to be carried out and the council will need to legally change the space from being a parking bay, using a Traffic Management Order. This will involve a public consultation period.
Once the red tape is in place the toolkit guides the communities through the creation and maintenance of the parklet, it even touches on holding a launch event for it.
The community toolkit can be found here.
Some councils have created their own parklets and many of the points in the communities toolkit also apply here: location, generating public support etc. It also moves on to developing a borough-wide kerbside strategy and the one developed by Lambeth Council – who aim to turn 25% of kerbside space into sustainable uses – is used as a case study.
The local authority toolkit can be found here.