The City of Raleigh is hosting a public meeting tonight on "parklets.” They're like mini-parks and are popular in larger cities.
"A parklet is a temporary public space that is typically found by converting an on-street parallel parking space," Grant Meacci, of Raleigh's Urban Design Center, explains.
A Raleigh resident introduced the idea to the city after a trip to San Francisco, where she saw some parklets and thought they might work in Raleigh. Non-profits or businesses can create parklets to offer seating and shade for pedestrians.
The cost is around $10,000 a piece, not counting the expense of leasing a parking spot from the city. Meacci says feedback on parklets has been good and bad.
"We've had a lot of people give us feedback that said, ‘please don't take away parking in downtown where it's so much trouble to find a parking space already,’" he said.
The meeting takes place tonight, from 6:00 to 8:00 at Raleigh's Urban Design Center.