In an effort to support local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Melrose launched a public parklet program with funding awarded to the City from the MassDOT Shared Streets and Spaces Program. The City partnered with the Melrose Pedestrian and Bicyclists Committee to develop a custom design in conjunction with local architect Emily Lammert and former committee chair Jonah Chiarenza. We were thrilled to see the parklet, built entirely by volunteers and fully open to the public, succeed in 2020 and return to equal fanfare in 2021.
Many businesses have deployed their own creative outdoor seating areas for customers over the last year. However, our committee encourages cities and towns to also consider building public parklets to provide open seating and attract more public life to their business districts. It is in that spirit that we are today making our full set of plans available to the public. Our parklets consist of a “modular” 7-foot by 7-foot wooden design, accommodating both planter boxes and art panels for the engagement of the local art community. They can be installed in pieces, to create a parklet that is as small or as large as local context allows — and they are constructed with readily available materials, meaning that small modifications can easily be handled (over the winter, Melrose DPW used remaining grant funding to construct three more parklets, with a slightly modified design*).
“Our Committee was incredibly grateful for the opportunity to partner with the City of Melrose to turn our shared desire for public parklets into a reality. It was also terrific to have so many volunteers come out to help us build the first one, and see the City take the ball and run with it so successfully.”
Jonah Chiarenza, former Ped/Bike Committee Chair and current Executive Director of Bike to the Sea
Want to learn more about how our parklet program came together? Click here to read MAPC’s case study on this successful partnership between the City of Melrose, the Melrose DPW, our local business community, and our team of volunteers.
To access our free, full planset (PDF), click here.
* To learn more about the modified design developed by Melrose DPW, or about procurement, installation, and maintenance, please contact Jay McNeil jmcneil@cityofmelrose.org or 781-870-0562