By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Princeton is looking to turn parking spaces into community spaces by inviting businesses to create a design for a “parklet,” an outdoor siting space that was a major hit in town last year.
The municipality again is teaming up with the Arts Council of Princeton on the project, one that made its local debut in front of Small World Coffee on Witherspoon Street. Through the late spring into early fall, users of the parklet could people watch, drink coffee or engage in conversation in a semi-enclosed area that resembled a sukkah, with more seating on the side.
Maria Evans, the artistic director at the Arts Council, said Tuesday that the parklet was popular with the public during the time, from late May to early October, that it was up.
This year, businesses are encouraged to develop a design and submit it for approval. Applications and guidelines can be found on the municipal website, www.princetonnj.gov, and on the Arts Council website, www.artscouncilofprinceton.org.
The filing deadline is May 13. Applications must go to the municipal planning office for the town to vet them for public safety. The Arts Council then will assess applications from an artistic standpoint, and ultimately choose the winner.
The aim is to have the parklet up between early June and late October, Ms. Evans said.
The winning business will have to pay a $5,500 fee to cover the costs of the loss of revenue of two parking meters, the labor costs for the municipal public works department to install and then dismantle the parklet and administrative costs.
Mayor Liz Lempert, who helped bring the parklet concept to Princeton, said Monday that she hoped the fee would not dissuade businesses from applying.
