Stillwater gets OK from MnDOT to turn part of Main Street into patio space – TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

State transportation officials have given Stillwater the OK to temporarily block off parking areas on either side of Main Street in downtown for bars and restaurants and businesses to operate outside, Mayor Ted Kozlowski said Friday.

Its huge, he said. The idea that we can have another almost 20 feet all along Main Street for a patio for people to eat food and buy stuff is a very cool thing.

On Tuesday, the Stillwater City Council approved a plan that gives business owners the green light to temporarily expand outside by using parking spaces on city-owned streets dining and shopping areas commonly referred to as parklets.

But that didnt help the bars and restaurants and other businesses on Main Street, a 30-mph state highway with one lane of traffic in each direction. Moreover, the state announced Wednesday that starting June 1 bars and restaurants statewide will be limited to outdoor dining only and no more than 50 patrons at a time.

Weve got five patios in downtown Stillwater and some of them are huge but most of our older restaurants dont have room in the front or back to have patios, Kozlowski said. I think most everybody was operating under the assumption that there was going to be some indoor capacity allowed.

Kozlowski called the governors office Thursday to explain the citys Main Street dilemma and ask for permission to temporarily use the parking spaces.

It was kind of my Hail Mary, he said.

He was put in touch with Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who Kozlowski said called him Friday to say the city is good to go with the plan and that by Wednesday it will be finalized by the state.

In other parts of Stillwater, the city is leaving it up to business owners to design their dining and shopping areas. For Main Street, Kozlowski said that he assured Kelliher the city would drop down concrete barriers for safety across the entire roughly six-block stretch of road downtown.

Stillwater is also finalizing plans to set up four or five giant party tents in private and public parking lots in the downtown area for outdoor dining, Kozlowski said.

Kozlowski estimates that around 60 parking spots along Main Street will be eliminated because of the new parklets. But lost parking is the least of my concerns right now, Kozlowski said, adding he would welcome large crowds.

Parking is always an issue in Stillwater, he said, but somehow we still manage to get 40,000 people downtown for the Fourth of July. They all find a place to park. I want parking to be a problem right now.

See the original post here:
Stillwater gets OK from MnDOT to turn part of Main Street into patio space - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press